Are the police working with the triads in Hong Kong? 香港警察跟黑社會勾結？

I've been writing about the protests in Hong Kong in the past month or so, but today I'm not going to talk about that. I want to talk about something more important. Something really brutal that has happened to normal citizens.

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GOING HOME

On Sunday evening, 21st July 2019, residents at Yuen Long in Hong Kong were returning home. When they got off the train, there was a bunch of thugs in white T-shirts holding canes and sticks waiting at the station. They were targeting young people wearing black who were returning from the pro democracy protest. The thugs started lashing out indiscriminately at everyone, including a pregnant woman.

_{Source : https://global.udn.com/global_vision/story/8662/3943425}

The residents ran back to the platform to get away from the thugs. The thugs followed them and continued lashing at everyone on the train. At around 0.34 in the video you will see a man lashing out at the screen and a woman screaming. She is a reporter at the station and ended up with 4 stitches on her shoulder and bruises on her back.

_{Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/22/where-were-the-police-hong-kong-outcry-after-masked-thugs-launch-attack}

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WHERE WAS THE POLICE?

When this started to happen many called 999 to report it. Some couldn't get through, some got disconnected and those who got through were told to stay indoors if you're worried. Some people went directly to the Yuen Long police station to report the thugs. When they arrived, the police refused to take their case and said they had to lock up due to security reasons.

_{Source : https://lihkg.com}

Two policeman were seen walking away from the railway station when the incident started. No staff from the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) turned up and the residents were left to fend for themeselves. The police didn't turn up till half an hour later by which time the thugs had conveniently left. Needless to say the residents were all very angry. All the police did was to tell them to catch a taxi home if they were still worried. The police then left.

_{Source : https://www.hk01.com}

After the police left, the thugs came back for the second time. This time they used force to open up the gates and rushed into the station. 45 people were sent to the hospital with injuries, 1 is still in a critical condition and 3 in a serious condition.

_{Source : https://news.rthk.hk}

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WHO ARE THE THUGS?

The thugs are locals from Yuen Long and some are known triad members. Triads are the equivalent of the Italian mafia.

After the thugs left the train station they hanged around Yuen Long town. I don't know why the police still think it is safe for the the residents to return home by taxi after what they have been through.

_{Source : http://www.chinapress.com.my}

_{Source : https://www.bldaily.com/international/p-425110.html}

During the early hours of Monday, the police where seen with the thugs in Yuen Long. No arrests were made, in fact they looked rather buddy together. These two photos were captured from and RTHK news video, an impartial news station in Hong Kong. You can watch the full video to see that I haven't just captured some biased shots.
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The following day the press asked why the police did not make any arrest. The police said they couldn't see any weapons and you can't just go around arresting everyone in white T-shirts. As of 22nd July night time, 5 people were arrested for illegal gathering.

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WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE POLICE AND THE TRIADS?

Given what I have witnessed over the 24 hours, it is difficult to believe that the police were not involved one way or other. The police can't explain in a convincing way why it took them half an hour to arrive at the scene. They can't explain in a convincing way what was going on between them and the thugs in the video. They can't explain in a convincing way why they can't arrest the thugs for the attack when there are tonns of video captured by so many people.

It's not the first time thugs have used attacks to intimidate protesters in Hong Kong. And with way things are going, it probably won't be the last. With the government running out of ideas to resolve the whole situation, perhaps they think getting someone else to do the dirty work may help? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm right. Here's what the international media has to say.

BBC

Guardian Newspaper

New York Times

CBS News

France 24