By The SUN
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| Officers check on the wounded man (RTHK photo) |
A police officer has fired three shots at a Filipino man while reportedly investigating a noise
complaint on Peng Chau island at about 10:00pm Tuesday night.
The man, a 43-year-old
man holding a Hong Kong identity card, was conscious when he was airlifted to
Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, but was later reported to
be in critical condition.
A second Filipino man,
said to be 33 years old and also holds a Hong Kong ID card, was arrested on
suspicion of assaulting and obstructing a police officer, and is still being
detained.
Two police officers
were slightly injured and were brought
to Ruttonjee Hospital where they were treated and discharged.
According to a police
spokeswoman, a complaint was made at 10:40pm last night about a rowdy drinking
party being held in a unit on Wing On Street.
Two officers went up
to a flat where a group of Filipinos were reportedly drinking and making
excessive noise. The injured Filipino, which
various reports said is named Oliver, allegedly argued with the officers, and
then grabbed one of them by the neck.
“The 43-year-old man
turned emotional and assaulted the police officer. After a verbal warning, the
man did not stop so the police officer shot him,” a police spokeswoman told The
SUN, quoting an incident report.
Another report said the
officer fell during a scuffle and fired three shots, which all hit the other
man in the waist and arm.
The officer reportedly
fainted after firing the shots.
But there have also been
reports from people supposedly at the scene who discounted the police version
of the incident.
A female boarder at the
100-square-foot subdivided flat where the incident happened was quoted as
saying that no loud party was held at their place last night.
Maricel, the tenant,
said she had fallen asleep after getting drunk earlier and vaguely heard a few
knocks on the door. She immediately woke up when she heard the gunshots, and
saw Oliver lying on the street.
She claimed Oliver, who
runs a beauty parlor in Central, rarely got drunk, so she was shocked at the
story that he had assaulted an officer which led to him being shot.
But a neighbor gave a different
story, saying he saw Oliver being out of control even after the police had
tried to subdue him.
The witness said Oliver also hit
the officers several times during the incident.
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| A second Filipino man is led away for questioning |
At a press briefing this afternoon, Au Yeung Ki, an acting marine
police superintendent, defended the officer’s decision to open fire, saying he
felt his life was under threat.
Au said the officers were called to the flat on Wing On Street by
neighbors who complained about the noise being made by people who were having a
barbecue gathering. The force said it was the second complaint made about the
same location that night.
The man identified as Oliver, who appeared to be drunk, reportedly
tried to strangle one of the officers and tried to push him down the stairs.
The man did not stop despite warnings, and even tried to take a swing at the
officer.
“The officer then
fired three shots, and the man was wounded in his hand and waist,” said Au, who
noted that the suspect was 1.8 metres tall, and the officer feared for his
safety.
“In this situation,
our officer followed our use of force guidelines,
“After an initial
probe, we feel that the colleague may indeed feel his life was under threat,
and he may be seriously wounded. It was suitable for him to use his gun,” Au
added.
Reporters were also
told that the officer who opened fire had been with the force for more than 35
years, and it was the first time that he had used his service weapon to fire a
shot while on duty.
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