Hong Kong police have arrested nine secondary school students on suspicion of assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a dispute over trivial matters on the roof of a building in the New Territories.
The suspects, five boys and four girls between 13 and 16 years old, were rounded up in a series of raids on Saturday and Sunday, according to the force.
Police said one of the boys was also detained on suspicion of claiming to be a triad member and another boy was also arrested for theft. Both are 14 years old.
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A police spokeswoman on Monday said all the suspects had been released on bail, pending further investigation. They are required to report back to the force in mid-September.
The case came to light when the victim’s mother made a report to police last Friday.
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According to the force, the alleged assault took place on the roof of a building on Liu To Road in Tsing Yi on the same day.
“A preliminary investigation suggested the victim had a dispute over trivial matters with the nine suspects who were accused of using their hands to attack her,” police said.
During the incident, one of the boys claimed to be a triad member and the other boy was accused of stealing HK$70 (US$9) from the victim.
The victim was sent to Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan for treatment. The Kwai Tsing anti-triad squad is investigating the case.
Since the beginning of the new academic year last Thursday, the force’s public relations wing has started to distribute 20,000 anti-crime booklets to more than 470 secondary schools and over 20 school-sponsoring bodies.
Each section of the booklet features a real-life story, a criminal technique section that shows how offences are carried out and tips for parents and teachers on how to educate teenagers and spot warning signs.
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee last week said a joint effort by schools and parents to help prevent juvenile crime was needed.
He pointed out that although the total number of juvenile crimes last year involving residents aged between 10 and 20 in 2021 was lower than the year before, those arrested for serious drug offences increased by 35.2 per cent – from 318 people in 2020 to 430 in 2021 – and the number of those involved aged 16 or under had doubled.
There were 145 young people arrested for serious drug offences in the first six months of the year, down 35.3 per cent from the 224 recorded in the same period in 2021.
But police highlighted that although the figures had improved, nine of those arrested were students aged just 13 or 14.
Siu also said that among the 12 juveniles arrested for prostitution-related offences in the first six months of the year, 11 were still in secondary school.
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