Shocking footage has emerged of a group of riot police attacking a lone unarmed protester as violent protests grip Hong Kong.
Two horrifying videos taken from two different angles shows a large group of officers run directly at the man, before knocking him to the ground, kicking him and hitting him with batons.
Police swarm around the man and as they continue their attack and use their riot shields to keep other civilians away from the area.
Riot officers have reportedly turned downtown Hong Kong into a "tear-gas-filled" battlefield as they fire pepper spray and water cannons at groups who stormed Hong Kong's Legislative Council.
Thousands of Hong Kong residents are protesting against a bill that would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be sent for trial in mainland China.
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Critics have condemned the law, as it would allow anyone in Hong Kong to be picked up and put on trial in Mainland China, who must follow the orders of the Communist Party.
According to the New York Times, critics fear the new law would not just target criminals but political activists.
Protests turned violent at 3pm on Wednesday local time, which is the deadline demonstrators had given the Government to abandon the controversial bill.
Hong Kong's territory chief executive Carrie Lam has compared the demonstrators to "stubborn children who do not know better".
"If my son was stubborn and I spoiled him and tolerated his stubborn behaviour every time, I would just be going along with him," Lam told Hong Kong broadcaster TVB on Wednesday, before the protests turned violent.
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Lam told TVB she had "never felt a guilty conscience over this".
"I continue to hold fast to the belief that it is the right thing to do," she said.
In another interview later on Wednesday, Lam condemned the riot, saying it was "no longer a peaceful assembly".
"It is impossible that this is an action that loves and protects Hong Kong," she said.
The Hong Kong government have reported that at least 72 people have been injured in the violent clashes, with the New York Times reporting 21 of the injured are police officers.
Newshub.
