Daily Times

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong police officer shot at masked protesters on Monday morning, hitting at least two, as anger sparked by the recent death of a student spilled into the rush hour commute.

The shooting, which was broadcast live on Facebook, is the latest escalation in more than five months of pro-democracy protests that have engulfed the international financial hub.

Footage showed a police officer drawing a pistol in the district of Sai Wan Ho as he tried to detain a masked person at a junction that had been blocked by protesters.

A masked assailant also doused a man with a flammable liquid and set him ablaze during an argument. The horrifying scene was captured on mobile phones and quickly went viral.

Police said a protester carried out the attack and accused black-clad “rioters” of an array of other violent acts, including throwing a petrol bomb inside a train carriage.

But last week, in an embarrassing setback, an international panel of experts appointed by authorities to advise the watchdog said it did not currently have the capability or resources to carry out such a huge probe.