Police make fifth arrest for trespass at PLA barracks
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 04 January, 2014, 2:57am
UPDATED : Saturday, 04 January, 2014, 3:54am
Jennifer Ngo [email protected]
Billy Chiu
A man was arrested for trespassing at the People's Liberation Army headquarters in Admiralty yesterday afternoon - the fifth arrest this year.
The man, 49, forced his way into the PLA Central Barracks next to the government headquarters, but was immediately stopped by soldiers on guard.
The police were then alerted by the PLA. The man was arrested under a section of the Public Order Ordinance titled "Prohibition on entering or leaving a closed area without permit" and was detained.
Police said there was no violence involved. This was the fifth arrest for trespassing onto the PLA base since the new year, but it was not related to the previous incidents, the police said.
Four members of a group known as Hongkongers Come First, which advocates for the independence of Hong Kong, were arrested on New Year's Day for breaking into the PLA barracks on December 26.
Six people from the group approached the barrack gates with the Hong Kong colonial flag in hand, and protested against the conversion of a prime harbourfront spot into a military berth.
The group allegedly called for the PLA to "get out" of the city.
The police arrested one member, Dickson Cheung Hon-yin, in Cheung Chau, and another member, Billy Chiu Hin-chung, on Hong Kong Island. The two other members were arrested after the January 1 rally, which ended at Chater Garden. They were later released on bail.
Another group member, Tse Wing-man, said the group had no affiliation with the arrested man and no knowledge of his plans.
