This photo shows some of the fake press cards seized by Hong Kong police on Aug 31, 2019. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Total 63 violent radicals were arrested after two interchange MTR stations of the bustling Yau Tsim Mong district descended into chaos on Saturday night, according to the police. 

At a press briefing on Sunday evening, Acting Senior Superintendent Tsui Suk-yee of Kowloon West Regional (Crime) said the 63 were arrested on suspicion of several crimes including possessing explosives and offensive weapons and criminal damage. 

The arrests were made after police have launched operations to disperse protesters who crippled the city for the 13th consecutive week since mid-June with escalating violence. 

The city’s police force said Sunday that it had seized 12 fake press cards and detained eight people in a raid in Sai Wan the previous day.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Some HK journalists should feel ashamed
  

• Reporters urged to respect each other after row at briefing

Separately, police seized a range of items commonly used by protesters in a hotel in Causeway Bay on Saturday noon.

These items included helmets, gas masks and HK$40,000 in cash. Three men believed to be connected with the find were detained.

WHAT HAPPENED SATURDAY?

After staging illegal assemblies at various districts of Hong Kong Island, a group of protesters extended the battle into Kowloon, with two MTR stations – Mong Kok and Prince Edward – bearing the brunt. 

This photo shows some items police seized during an operation at a hotel in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Aug 31, 2019. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

While the rampant mobs willfully vandalizes the facilities of Mong Kok MTR station, another group of violent radicals stormed into a train of the nearby Prince Edward Station and harassed and assaulted passengers onboard. 

According to Tsui, around 10:30 pm of Saturday, the police received reports from citizens and the MTR, the train operator, informing them some radicals were carrying out destructive activities at the Mong Kok station. About 10 minutes later, they received other reports that said intense conflicts had erupted among two groups of passengers at the Prince Edward station. Police rushed to the scene and made the arrests soon afterwards. 

Evidence collected from the arrestees include gasoline bombs, laser pointers, catapults, and steel balls, said Tsui. Police seized two gasoline bombs and a lighter from a 13-year-old – the youngest among the arrestees – and a batch of gasoline bombs on the platform of the station. 

Tsui said all the arrestees would remain in custody overnight for investigation. Police would consider to charge some of them after sufficient evidences are collected.