HONG KONG - Nearly 90 police officers have been injured in a clash with rioters following a clearance operation on illegal hawkers in Mong Kok, a busy local commercial district, from late Monday to Tuesday morning.
The riot erupted after a handful of illegal street vendors refused to halt their business and clashed with law enforcement officials.
The riot also happened at a time when local residents are celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year.
Some 300 rioters arrived later, confronting and attacking police reinforcement. At least 54 rioters have been arrested.
The attack happened after one and a half hours of confrontation. The rioters assaulted the police with bricks, stones and other makeshift weapons.
Two warning shots were fired by police to rescue officers being attacked.
While occupying main streets in Mong Kok, the rioters destroyed several police vehicles and public properties, and also committed arson at a number of locations early in the morning.
Many police officers were beaten to bleed in the head and face by the rioters, and several journalists were also attacked by the rioters even though they showed their identity cards.
Lo Wai Chung, Hong Kong's commissioner of police, told a press conference that so far the police have arrested 54 suspects and nearly 90 police officers as well as four journalists were injured.
Lo said police could not rule out it was a prepared and organized riot. Investigations showed that some of those participants were transported with vehicles for use by radicals, he said.
Police will carry out further investigations and charge those arrested with attacking police, participating in riot and other offenses and the possibility of further arrests could not be ruled out, Lo added.
Hong Kong police have ability and confidence in handling all illegal acts and will make all-out efforts to take law enforcement actions against those responsible, the police commissioner stressed.
Hong Kong police respects residents to express their opinions, but can not tolerate any one using violence to do so, he said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying condemned the riot Tuesday morning and expressed his support to the police for their efforts in restoring order and peace.
"The SAR government strongly condemns the violent act and the police will apprehend those mobs and bring them into justice," Leung told the press when making a statement at his office accompanied by government officials.
Lai Tung-kwok, secretary for security, told the press that the police fired two warning shots because the officers had been knocked down and were under attack.
Hong Kong police is still investigating the case and will do every effort to arrest those suspects, Lai said.
The Chief Executive later went to a local hospital to visit the injured police officers and journalists.
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong issued a statement, condemning the riot and demanding police bring those rioters into justice as soon as possible.
A statement issued by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said those so-called "indigenous" persons were behind the riot and stirred up the trouble.
The street vendors' problem could not be used as an excuse for violence and to challenge rule of law, the statement said.
