Photo: GT

A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government strongly condemned rioters after widespread violence erupted in the city Sunday, which saw a police officer slashed in the neck with sharp objects. 

Rioters clearly targeted police officers, cut a police officer in the neck with a sharp object, attempted to grab officers' equipment, threw Molotov cocktails at police vehicles and stations, and attacked police with bricks, seriously threatening their safety. Rioters' behaviors are outrageous, the spokesperson said in a statement.  

According to the Hong Kong police, one police officer's neck was bleeding after rioters attacked police officers with sharp objects. He was in consciousness and sent to hospital for treatment. Two suspects were arrested at the scene, the Hong Kong police said.

The attack occurred at the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Kwun Tong station around 5:30 pm when the police officers arrived to handle a criminal damage case.

Around 7:30 pm, two plainclothes police officers were assaulted by mobs of rioters in Tseung Kwan O. Rioters who used hard objects to bludgeon the heads of the police officers.

Both police officers suffered head injuries.

They were taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for medical treatment in a conscious state.

Rioters also smashed the window of a police vehicle parked at Dundas Street near Nathan Road  around 7 pm. They sprayed paint on the vehicle and looted all its property. 

The vehicle was used by Identification Bureau officers who were handling a non-protest-related burglary case.

The police vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

Illegal protests and gatherings rampaged through multiple districts across the city Sunday afternoon, escalating into violence. 

Referencing so-called scattered gatherings campaign organized by some online users, rioters vandalized government and MTR facilities, offices of Hong Kong legislators, selected banks and shops and set fire to different places. Some rioters attacked civilians and targeted some media outlets, read a statement of the Hong Kong spokesperson released on the government website. 

All lines of the light rail service in the city were suspended Sunday afternoon as a result of damage and many MTR stations were closed early, causing inconvenience and panic to residents. 

In addition, some people at Wong Tai Sin burned the national flag, challenging national sovereignty. They are suspected of violating the regulation on the use of national and regional flags and emblems, the HKSAR government said.  

The HKSAR government strongly condemned rioters' violent acts and vowed to curb violence with the utmost determination. It also called for the residents who participate in peaceful demonstrations to draw a clear line with rioters, try to maintain the core value of the rule of law in Hong Kong, and work with the government to restore social order.    

Hong Kong police also released a statement on its Facebook account to condemn widespread violence on Sunday. 

By 9:00 pm, mobs have thrown more than 20 Molotov cocktails at the Mong Kok Police Station. The police station was set ablaze with smoke, according to the police.

Acts including hurting people, attacking police officers and setting fires, are indeed riots, said the  police. They warned rioters to stop illegal actions that have heavily disturbed Hong Kong's social order and affected residents' lives.

A total 36 people were injured during Sunday’s protests and sent to hospital as of 11:00 pm on Sunday. Two men and one woman are in serious condition, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said.