Police tipped off about trouble at Yuen Long MTR, court told

Police were tipped off two days before a mob attack at Yuen Long MTR station during the 2019 anti-government protests but did nothing to prevent it, a court has heard.

Zachary Wong Wai-yin, a former Yuen Long District Council chairman, told the court yesterday that he was warned by a villager on July 19 that year that some residents planned to drive outsiders away on the night of July 21. Wong said he told a police sergeant about the plot on the same day he received the warning.

He was speaking as a defence witness at the District Court trial of Lam Cheuk-ting, a former lawmaker and Sheung Shui district councillor, who has been charged with rioting.

Wong said he phoned the same sergeant twice between 9pm and 10pm on the night of the disturbances to plead for police backup after he learned whiteshirted men were gathering in the district. He said he called the officer a third time and told him that he and Lam planned to go to the MTR station.

“As a citizen and a district councillor serving Yuen Long for 33 years, I immediately notified the police about [the potential violence],” he said. “If police really did hope to stop it, they did not even have to deploy officers to the scene.

“Instead, a phone call to the chairman of [the rural committee] would do the job.”

Wong said he was “disappointed” by the force’s response as officers took a long time to arrive at the station and because no one contacted him after he gave the sergeant repeated warnings.

The court earlier heard that a group of white-shirted men armed with sticks were seen to have assembled in Yuen Long about 7pm on July 21 and that they first launched an attack in the station at 10.40pm on anyone dressed in black, a colour favoured by protesters.

A photo of a man’s lacerated back later circulated on social media after 9pm and Lam previously told the court he went to the MTR station after he saw it.

Police were alerted to the violence by Lam, Wong and other members of the public.

Wong added officers at the Yuen Long division had assured the district council in the past that they had enough manpower to deal with large-scale assemblies.

Jasmine Ching Wai-ming, for the prosecution, suggested Wong had been “overconfident” about the mobility of the force and had neglected to factor in that all available manpower had been drafted into the Central and Western districts to deal with major disturbances on the same night.

She also asked Wong that if he had cared about the safety of the public, why had he not gone to the MTR station earlier?

“I notified the sergeant on July 19 about the plot,” he said. “If they actually wanted to take action and prevent the mob violence, it does not make sense that they only thought about the manpower issue on July 21.”

Ching accused Wong of trying to “stay out of the mess” because he did not travel to Yuen Long with Lam and failed to try and stop him from going, where it is alleged he incited protesters.

Wong said he “completely disagreed” with that assessment.

“It was the police’s responsibility to enforce the law but they failed to do so,” he said. “How could you now accuse me of not being able to stop the attack?”

Wong added the sergeant had only told him some policemen in plain clothes had been sent to the scene, but the conflict escalated fast and a considerable number of people were injured.

Lam is among seven defendants facing a joint charge of rioting. The trial continues.

As a citizen and a district councillor … I notified police about [the potential violence] ZACHARY WONG, FORMER COUNCIL CHAIR