Hong Kong officials condemned radical protesters for hurling a petrol bomb at an officer on duty in Tsim Sha Tsui police station on Sunday, saying it is an act of terrorism.  

Hong Kong Commissioner of Police, Lo Wai-chung, visited the police officer injured in Tsim Sha Tsui Sunday night in Princess Margaret Hospital. The officer sustained burns to his legs after being hit by a petrol bomb hurled by a radical protester while he was on duty in Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station earlier on Sunday. 

Lo said he was saddened that one of his officers had sustained such serious injuries while on duty. He expressed anger and severe condemnation of the reckless, violent and unlawful acts committed by the radical protesters, adding that Hong Kong police will investigate all violent acts that have caused serious and even life-threatening injuries.

Illegal violent protesters gathered around the Tsim Sha Tsui police station for hours on Sunday. 

Some netizens said that the protesters also used airsoft grenade launchers to shoot projectiles at the police. The Global Times reporter found that, in an opposition online chat group, some said the grenade launcher can be converted to launch dangerous objects other than grenades.

"Using airsoft grenade launchers to attack the police is an extreme violent act and a serious violation of law. No matter what their demands are, they have no reason to make such evil acts. In fact, this is an act of terror," Ronny Chan, chairman of the Superintendents' Association of the Hong Kong Police Force, told the Global Times Sunday night.

Rioting protesters threw  petrol bombs at the police in the Sham Shui Po area on Sunday, injuring a police officer, China Central Television reported.

A former police officer said on Sunday that some protesters were carrying concealed collapsible military knives.

Rioters are now stepping up their use of force, using more nasty strategies and attacking the police in an organized way and sometimes in "flash mob" style, the former officer said.

Hong Kong legislation states that a person causing serious injury to another may be sentenced to life imprisonment, Chan said.
Newspaper headline: HK rioters slammed for throwing petrol bomb