TNAG-0003-FCO40-39-Commission-of-Enquiry-into-the-Kowloon-disturbances-addition-1968 — Page 67

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PART III THE DISTURBANCES

47

it was necessary to disperse the crowd at the junction of Argyle Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street as quickly as possible. He and his runner each fired five revolver shots at the legs of the crowd, which began to move back. By the time firing had finished, the crowd had completely moved out of Sai Yeung Choi Street and was concentrated in Argyle Street: the shower of missiles on the police and Fire services personnel then stopped and the latter were able to alight from their vehicles and begin fighting the fires. The sergeant with the other platoon which had been sent to the front of Shaw's Building had also fired a shot. The crowd on this side of the building was smaller than that on the Sai Yeung Choi Street side and was throwing missiles in the same way but including what appeared to be cotton waste soaked in kerosene and vehicles were burning near the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank building.

164. When Mr. MCNUTT moved his platoon to the junction of Argyle Street, he saw that the crowd was about to return. He therefore instructed the police constable with him to fire his carbine, one round over the head of the crowd and another at their feet. He did not have enough men with him to make a charge but he thought the position at the time was very dangerous and it was essential to show the crowd that the police were using firearms. The crowd then moved east- wards up Argyle Street near the junction with Sai Yee Street and Yim Po Fong Street, still about 500 to 1,000 strong and in an angry mood. Mr. McNUTT's runner indicated one man standing on the outside of the crowd, who appeared to be urging the crowd to attack the police a man under 40 dressed in a white shirt and tie. Mr. MCNUTT ordered the police constable to fire at this man which he did. He was not hit and ran back into the crowd. A second constable was told to fire two rounds over the heads of the crowd, which then dispersed into the several streets leading off Argyle Street. Before Mr. McNUTT issued his fire order, the platoon sergeant had called on the crowd over a loud hailer to desist from throwing stones or the police would open fire. Banners had also been put up but these could not be kept up for long as the police were being attacked. No serious injuries were received by the police, but many of them had bruises from the stones. Photographs of the damage to Shui Hing Co. and to vehicles in Argyle Street are at Plates 21 and 22. Shortly afterwards, the company was relieved in this area by the Traffic Office company and instructed to proceed to the Fire Services Building at Tong Mei Road where they linked up again with the platoon which had been left in Shanghai Street-but the incident reported was over when they arrived. They then proceeded to patrol the Sham Shui Po area until they got instructions at 2.25 a.m. to proceed to the Post Office at the junction of Nam Cheung Street and Yen Chow Street. On arrival, they found a relatively small crowd of about 40 people piling wooden boxes outside the post office and using kerosene to start a fire, but the crowd immediately broke up when the police appeared.