SHOCKING footage shows Hong Kong protesters battering a cabbie after he ploughed his car into a crowd of demonstrators. The brutal scene was filmed yesterday in the central Sham Shui Po district as the protests become increasingly violent. Video shows the car making its way slowly through a huge mass of umbrella-carrying activists when it […]
SHOCKING footage shows Hong Kong protesters battering a cabbie after he ploughed his car into a crowd of demonstrators.
The brutal scene was filmed yesterday in the central Sham Shui Po district as the protests become increasingly violent.
Video shows the car making its way slowly through a huge mass of umbrella-carrying activists when it suddenly accelerates.
The vehicle ploughs through people before coming to a halt when it hits a wall.
A furious mob then drag the driver from behind the wheel before beating him to a bloody pulp, as others try to protect him.
It’s not clear what caused the crash but the driver was beaten unconscious by the crowd regardless, according to CNN.
Four people were rushed to hospital, with three still remaining there in a serious condition, 9news reports.
Unrest in the city is becoming more and more violent as both sides refuse to give ground.
Anti-government protesters have been attacking anyone they see as being against them, trashing businesses with links to mainland China and battering off-duty cops.
And the government is refusing to address the protesters demands, instead cracking down further by using emergency powers to ban face masks.
But the ban seems only to have fuelled the violence, with scores of people arrested in clashes overnight.
The last British governor of the city – which was handed back to China in 1997 – has now waded in to warn people could be killed.
Chris Patten told Sky News: “Before long, unless we are very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to be shot.
“The idea that with public order policing you send police forces out with live ammunition is preposterous.”
Two protesters have so far been shot – one in the chest and one in the leg.
Authorities said the shootings were not intentional but occurred during skirmishes between police and protesters.
Many protesters, police and journalists have been injured in clashes, with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, some of whom throw bricks and petrol bombs.
A journalist working with Hong Kong’s public broadcaster was recovering in the hospital on Monday after being hit by a petrol bomb on Sunday night.
And the China’s Hong Kong military garrison warned protesters on Sunday they could be arrested for targeting its barracks with lasers.
Chinese military personnel raised a yellow flag with the arrest warning written in large letters – the first direct interaction between the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and protesters.
The protesters eventually dispersed.
The PLA has remained in barracks since the protests started, leaving police to handle the demonstrations, but the PLA’s top brass has warned violence is “absolutely impermissible.”
The protests started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill.
But they have now grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city.
Demonstrators are angry, saying the tightening grip undermines the “one country, two systems” status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.
China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.
Further protests are planned on Monday evening.
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