Senior Superintendent (Operations) FOO Yat-ting of Kowloon East Region together with Superintendent (Operations) WU Ka-yan, Ewing of Kowloon East Crime Regional Headquarters are giving a briefing to media for the incident on November 5. Photo: Screenshot of HongKongPoliceForce Facebook page

Hong Kong Police have denied a rumor that a student who fell one level in a parking garage was pushed by police, noting that police did not hinder the ensuing recovery operation.

During a demonstration in Tseung Kwan O at midnight on Monday, a 22-year-old student from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was seriously injured after falling from the third floor of the parking structure to the second floor. The injured man is still being treated in ICU, Hong Kong media reported.

Superintendent (Operations) Wu Ka-yan Ewing of Kowloon East Crime regional headquarters displayed the floor plan during a press conference on Tuesday, saying that the injured student was found on the second floor 120 meters away from where police fired tear gas.

According to Hong Kong police, they fired 44 canisters of tear gas, 11 rubber bullets, three beanbags and one sponge grenade to disperse rioters who tossed objects at them, after being repeatedly warned that police would take action.

After checking surveillance video, police confirmed that the injured student fell between 12:45am and 1:00am from a spot where no police officers had yet arrived. The injured student was picked up by an ambulance at 1:20am. It was blocked by two vehicles on the way to hospital.

Police denied they hindered the recovery operation or blocked the ambulance from leaving.

Police said they were saddened by the serious injury to the young man and have offered their condolences to his family. Police are highly concerned about the incident and have asked the criminal regional headquarters of the Kowloon East Region to follow up.