A man was arrested on Friday evening as he allegedly attacked a 25-year-old pro-democracy candidate of the District Council election in Tiu Keng Leng in New Territories East.
At around 5:45 pm, Brandon Yip, whose election platform includes the five demands of the extradition protesters, was seen delivering leaflets on the bridge connecting Ocean Shores and Metro Town. His conduct did not violate any laws.
According to Yip, a woman and a man called him “cockroach,” “rioter,” “rubbish” and “troublemaker” and said he had no right to distribute leaflets on the bridge.
Suddenly, the man choked Yip’s and pushed him against a glass wall, a witness told Asia Times. Yip fell on the floor.
Yip said he began filming them but a woman grabbed his mobile phone and threw it from the bridge down to the traffic on the road below.
The duo, who claimed to be residents of Ocean Shores, entered the real estate while Yip chased them. They said Yip had trespassed the real estate.
The man called the police at 5:50 pm and said an anti-government person was delivering leaflets within the area of Ocean Shores. Actually, the bridge is a public area.
Before the police arrived, the woman, together with her friend, shouted at a dozen residents.
Some residents said they welcomed election candidates delivering leaflets near or inside Ocean Shores as they want to have more choices. Some said it was wrong to physically attack others and damage other people’s property.
However, a man talked back and complained that young people had vandalized public facilities in recent protests.
After the police talked to some witnesses and checked the closed circuit television footages, they arrested the man at 7:15pm for suspected common assault. The police did not say whether the woman would be arrested for alleged property damage or throwing objects from heights.
Yip went to hospital for a medical check. He said he incurred a minor injury on his head and left hand.
During the whole incident, Chan Kai-wai, the current District Council member for Ocean Shores, did not show up. Chan claimed to have no connection to any political party.
Chan, Yip of TKO Shining and Jack Wong Shing-kwong, a retiree, are the three candidates in the Wai King district who run for the coming District Council election, which will be held on November 24.
Over the past two months, there have been many cases that some pro-establishment people – so-called “blue ribbons” – randomly attacked young people, who look like protesters, on the streets and then called the police. In many cases, 10 to 20 riot police would come and arrest the young people and let the attackers go.