2 lawmakers held over riot

Two incumbent lawmakers - Lam Cheuk-ting and Ted Hui Chi-fung - were taken into police custody in an early morning swoop on Wednesday, along with 11 other people, for their alleged role in last year's anti-government protests.

Lam is also suspected to have taken part in a riot at the Yuen Long MTR Station, during which two groups of people with opposing political views clashed, leaving about 45 people injured.

A total of 43 people had earlier been arrested in connection with the Yuen Long incident, and seven have been charged with various offenses, including rioting and conspiracy to wound with intent.

Lam and Hui are also alleged to have been involved in an incident outside the Tuen Mun police station on July 6, 2019, in which a man was surrounded by a group accusing him of taking pictures of protesters.

Senior Superintendent Chan Tin-chu told a media briefing on Wednesday some of the 13 people rounded up in the latest arrests are suspected triad members, stressing that the police and triads are "absolutely irreconcilable".

According to Chan, Lam had been livestreaming the incident at the Yuen Long MTR Station about 10 minutes before rival groups, clad in white or black, arrived and began attacking each other with fire hoses and fire extinguishers, among other weapons.

Chan said it was an escalated conflict involving two groups of people with different political views, rather than an "indiscriminate attack" on residents.

Under Sections 18 and 19 of the Public Order Ordinance, he said there's sufficient evidence to charge Lam with rioting as he had taken part in an unlawful assembly that commits a breach of the peace and involves violence. "It doesn't mean you're absolved of responsibility if you're livestreaming the incident," said Chan.

In Hong Kong, rioting carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.

Chan also criticized certain media outlets and netizens for using smear tactics against the police and stigmatizing officers with accusations of colluding with triads. "Some of them uploaded biased, twisted and deceptive videos, with subjective narrations, trying to undermine the police's law enforcement ability just to achieve their ulterior political motives," he said.

He stressed that regardless of one's occupation, the police will impartially bring that person to justice for breaking the law.

Two other suspects detained on Wednesday are alleged to have committed offenses, including obstructing the course of justice.

According to Chan, a group of radical protesters had surrounded and threatened a man seen taking pictures of them near Tuen Mun Park. Claiming they were there to mediate in the case, the two lawmakers took away the man's cellphone and deleted the contents on the phone without his consent, while protesters nearby used umbrellas to shield their unlawful acts, Chan said.

Hui, who snatched the victim's cellphone, has been charged with accessing a computer with dishonest intent and damaging property.