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Hong Kong courts
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Hong Kong government seeks damages against activist over injuries suffered by police during Occupy protest

  • Authorities seeking more than HK$170,000 in compensation for the injuries, which allegedly left one officer permanently affected
  • The case stems from a 2014 operation in which police tried to clear Occupy protesters from Mong Kok

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Billy Chiu being escorted out of the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in 2017. Photo: Dickson Lee
Jasmine Siu
A one-time Hong Kong independence activist has been sued by police for more than HK$170,000 (US$22,000) for allegedly injuring four officers during an Occupy protest six years ago.
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The District Court claim filed against Billy Chiu Hin-chung, 35, was calculated based on 148 days of sick leave granted to four senior constables and compensation for one of those officers’ permanent loss of an estimated 1.5 per cent of his earning capacity due to injuries.

The case stemmed from a police clearance operation in Mong Kok on October 17, 2014, when officers unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the busy shopping district and reopen major roads as protesters ignored warnings to leave the scene.

The clashes were part of the 79-day civil disobedience movement, lasting from September to December 2014, during which protesters occupied and paralysed thoroughfares across the city to call for greater democracy.
Police officers clash with protesters in Mong Kok during the Occupy movement on October 17, 2014. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Police officers clash with protesters in Mong Kok during the Occupy movement on October 17, 2014. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
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Chiu, founder of the protest group Hongkongers Come First, was prosecuted the following year for obstructing and resisting police during the clearance, as well as allegedly assaulting one of the four officers named in the present claim.

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