831 Prince Edward Explainer
1/ On the night of 31 Aug 2019, a police operation that took place at Prince Edward MTR station has caused controversy and left us with many unanswered questions. Here's a timeline of what happened that night and beyond. #HongKongProtests.
2/ At around 22:37, many protesters boarded a Kwun Tong (green) line train at Mong Kok after leaving street clashes with the police. A dispute erupted between protesters and some of the passengers on board as the train entered Prince Edward station.
3/ The dispute then escalated into a confrontation and a man was seen wielding a hammer towards protesters (the man appeared about 8 minutes into the video linked above).
5/ #MTR staff reported the incident to the police at 22:45 and an evacuation was triggered at Prince Edward station at 22:53.
6/ Riot police arrived shortly, chasing and attacking passengers on the platform and inside the compartment of a Tsuen Wan (red) line train. The scene was chaotic.
7/ It should be noted that, however, the train compartment that the riot police stormed into (marked with a red star) were NOT the one where the protesters/passengers dispute took place earlier (marked with a yellow star). The attacks seemed to be totally random.
8/ Batons and pepper spray were also used against passengers stuck at an escalator leading to the concourse nearby.
9/ According to multiple sources, at least 40 arrests were made by 23:05. Several people have sustained bloody head wounds during the attacks.
10/ Services of both the Kwun Tong (green) and Tsuen Wan (red) line were put to a halt at 23:10 and journalists were also ordered to leave the platform at this point, so what happened hereafter can only be pieced together using eyewitness accounts and official records.
10/ Services of both the Kwun Tong (green) and Tsuen Wan (red) line were put to a halt at 23:10 and journalists were also ordered to leave the platform at this point, so what happened hereafter can only be pieced together using eyewitness accounts and official records.
11/ According to the Fire Services Department, a team of paramedics arrived at Prince Edward MTR station exit B1 at 23:14, but was told by the police officer stationed there that there's no casualty at the scene. The paramedics subsequently entered the station at 23:30.
13/ Records by the Fire Services Department later revealed that the number of casualty was modified three times during the night, from 9 to 10 then down to 7.
14/ The discrepancy in the number of injuries and the closure of the station for more than 30 hours afterwards have caused many to suspect that some arrestees might have died inside the station.
15/ FactWire interviewed 47 of the 52 arrested that night to establish the whereabouts of the injured. "After three months of investigations, we could not conclude that anybody had died."
16/ Police also said they have not received any reports over missing person related to the 831 incident.
17/ The general public seemed to believe otherwise though. A poll conducted by @LeungKaiChiHK in Oct 2019 showed that at least half of those interviewed (out of 1026) believed that some arrestees had been killed in the 831 incident.
18/ Shortly after the 831 incident, an altar was set up outside Prince Edward station exit B1 in remembrance of the victims of police brutality. (Photo credits: @StandNewsHK)
19/ People still left white flowers for the "rumoured" deaths months after the incident. Whether anybody died inside Prince Edward station on August 31 is still a lingering question on many people's mind to this day.