In pictures: Mong Kok hawker protest turns violent on first night of Lunar New Year
Post photographer Edward Wong captured the dramatic scenes
Hundreds of protesters launched projectiles and set fires on one of the busiest streets in Mong Kok early Tuesday morning amid a police crackdown on illegal street hawkers.
The violence broke out on Shantung Street and Soy Street. Senior police officer Crusade Yau Siu-kei said: “Radical elements have come with self-made weapons and shields and clashed with police.”
READ MORE: Ugly New Year hawker riot leaves Mong Kok under police lockdown after protest over street food sellers
Police said 48 officers were injured in the clashes, while 23 people were arrested following the riot.
Details on the number of injured protesters were not immediately available.
At least four journalists were reported to have been hurt, including from TVB, Ming Pao, RTHK, and a cameraman from Cable TV.
READ MORE: Hong Kong Indigenous in the eye of the storm after Mong Kok New Year riot overnight
Post photographer Edward Wong was on the scene to capture these dramatic pictures.
