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Police Intervention in
Whitehead Detention Centre on 4 May 1990
The following account is based on statements made during interviews with asylum seekers, staff of Voluntary Agencies and UNHCR field staff. One Superintendent of the Royal Hong Kong Police was also interviewed.
On 4 May 1990 the police conducted a general "weapons search" in all sections of Whitehead. The operation started at around 05:00 hrs and finished at approximately 15:00 hrs. The police confirmed use of both tear gas, tear smoke (CS gas) and CN gas (chemical mace). Approximately 1,200 police officers participated in the operation reportedly representing the most extensive police operation in Hong Kong since 1971.
The police entered all sections of the camp simultaneously and without any prior warning to the population or attempts to negotiate with the residents a peaceful surrender of weapons. UNHCR was not consulted prior to the operation.
According to statements from the residents the police threw tear gas grenades into the different sections either before or on entering the sections. Some fighting broke out between the police and residents. This was particularly evident in section 6.
In practically all other sections the residents hid in their dormitories. In section 6 as the fighting ceased the residents took cover in the dormitories and toilets.
The population was then taken out of the huts, one hut at a time and placed along the fences in groups of some 100 persons. The men and women were separated. Those persons who did not moving quickly were hit by officers who used sticks for this
purpose.
In order to move the residents out of the huts and in response to the fighting over 100 tear gas grenades were used by the police. "Pepper-fog" generators with tear smoke were also used to pump gas directly into the dormitories.
The residents were first searched and then told to squat down. They had to stay in this position from around 05:30 hrs. until the whole weapons search was finished at about 15.00 hrs. The majority were not allowed to go to the toilet but had to defecate and urinate on the spot although some persons were apparently allowed to leave the group and defecate by the fence a few meters away. Those who moved, or started to talk were immediately taken out of the group and put in a special line in front of the group. Several persons among this latter group were kicked and beaten by police officers using sticks. Several individual interviews have been conducted and bruises photographed. Doctors at the centre have examined several persons but the outcome of these examinations is still unknown. No outside medical examination has been carried out of the large number of persons who claim to have been beaten.
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