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PART III THE DISTURBANCES
dropped from the rooftops and windows of multistorey buildings. The company reached Soy Street at about 1 a.m., where a platoon was sent to extinguish the fire which had been reignited after the previous action by the Sham Shui Po com- pany. In the course of this, two rounds of ammunition were fired.
195. At about midnight, a group of rioters broke into the Gala Cinema and a military unit was sent to deal with this incident.
196. Meanwhile, the Marine company had been ordered from Yau Ma Tei Police Station at 11.30 p.m. to deal with a crowd at Dundas Street, which was reported to be damaging parking meters and road signs and overturning cars. The company was stoned as it passed up Nathan Road, clearing obstructions and putting out fires in the road. At Dundas Street the company came under attack from a hostile crowd of about 30-40. Stones and bottles were thrown at the police and also a type of fuel bomb which ignited on impact-apparently similar to those which had been used against the Wong Tai Sin company on the previous night. The company commander, fearing for the safety of his transport and ammunition, called on the crowd to disperse and when they did not do so, he fired one round. When the crowd dispersed as a result of this, one man was found with a wound in his thigh and hand and another with a serious wound in his chest. The latter died shortly after arrival in hospital, and at the subsequent inquest, a verdict of excusable homicide was entered. A report in an English newspaper of 8th April described this incident as follows:
'Last night I watched as Police were forced to open fire on an uncontrollable mob overturning cars at Mong Kok. One man was killed and another wounded.
the man, CHENG Yan Cheung, 28, was shot in the chest and died after being taken to Kwong Wah Hospital.
CHENG was shot when police opened fire on a rioting crowd in Dundas Street near Nathan Road about midnight.
Before firing they gave constant warnings to the crowds to disperse.
Police stretcher bearers raced into the crowd and carried the two wounded men into Nathan Road
his death was hurried along because shouting, screaming mobs of rioters would not give way to an ambulance which had been called by Police.
While Police were putting CHENG into the ambulance they were under a petrol bomb barrage'.
197. After this incident, the Marine company continued to disperse small crowds at the intersections with Nathan Road in this area, until they were ordered to move south to Waterloo Road at about 1 a.m. From there they dealt with a crowd lighting fires in Portland Street and they extinguished a number of small fires in the area. A further attempt was made to burn the Yau Ma Tei Post Office but a Fire Services unit extinguished the fire at 1.30 a.m.
198. Although conditions were generally quieter after midnight and the situation was rapidly coming under control, reports were still being received of