Hong Kong leader apologises after police sprays mosque entrance

Hong Kong’s leader and police force apologised on Monday to the local Islamic community for spraying the entrance to the city’s major mosque with blue solution from a water cannon while battling the anti-government protests at the weekend.

They insisted the soaking at Kowloon Mosque was an accident, according to the community representatives.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Stephen Lo Wai-chung visited the place of worship a day after disturbances erupted in Tsim Sha Tsui and neighbouring areas.

In running battles in Kowloon district police used tear gas and water cannon trucks to disperse petrol bomb-throwing protesters, spraying jets of blue dye into the crowds.

On Sunday, protesters took over roads and vandalised property across Kowloon as the unrest – sparked by opposition to a since-withdrawn extradition bill – entered its 20th straight weekend.

The force came under fire after the water cannon truck stopped and sprayed a solution laced with blue dye over the Nathan Road mosque’s entrance and front steps.

The colouring is intended to make it easier to catch frontline protesters after a crowd disperses. Officers categorised it as an accident and did not immediately offer an apology in a statement later that evening.

The protests started over a now withdrawn extradition bill but have now developed into bigger anti-government protests.

Hong Kong leaders have so far resisted other protester demands.

Protesters are demanding universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, amnesty for those charged over previous demonstrations, and an end to the government’s labelling of the protesters as rioters.