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Hong Kong police on Monday said they were investigating a suspected explosive device found on Sunday night amid violent clashes between protesters and police.
The device appeared to be a second attempt by protesters to use what they called “homemade explosives” to target officers during more than five months of social unrest, police said in a news conference.
The device failed to detonate properly, emitting only a loud bang heard by officers on site. Some reporters on scene described a flash and a strong chemical smell.
An official from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team said the device bore similarity to remote-controlled explosives commonly used by terrorists, noting that such types of explosives are “extremely difficult” to execute properly.
Sunday’s protests became more violent as the night went on.
Police said protesters threw more than 20 petrol bombs at the Mong Kok Police Station and two plain-clothes officers sustained head injuries when they were attacked in Tsueng Kwan O district.
Authorities were also reportedly using force.
A driver for local broadcaster Now TV said he was detained and beaten inside a police station after being shot in the back of the head by police with a projectile believed to be a beanbag round.
He is in hospital with a broken jaw and other injuries, Now TV reported.
Protests first broke out across the territory in June over a now-defunct extradition bill, but the demands of the movement have grown to include universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police violence.(dpa/NAN)
