Hong Kong Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters Amid Mall Rampage - Reports

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2019) Police in Hong Kong on Sunday fired tear gas at violent protesters who vandalized businesses thought to be pro-Beijing in the mainly residential Sha Tin district, media said.

Vandals stormed the New Town Plaza shopping mall and attacked stores run by mainland operators, forcing them to close, the South China Morning Post reported.

They erected and set on fire barricades outside the shopping center. Others stomped on the Chinese national flag before putting it into a trash can and throwing it into the river.

Riot police moved in and deployed tear gas as mall chaos escalated.

Demonstrators responded by hurling bricks and Molotov cocktails at the officers.

Some protesters split off to ravage the Sha Tin train station where they tried to break up ticket validators, causing police to interfere. Three shopping malls in other parts of the autonomous city were also attacked.

This is the 16th straight week of massive anti-government protests sparked off in early June by an unpopular extradition law, which has since been completely withdrawn, but calls for strikes continued.