Photo: AFP

 
The Hong Kong police on Sunday issued stern condemnation of rioting acts, saying that attacking ordinary Hongkongers overstepped the bottom line of civilized society, as rioters went on rampage to assault people who resented their illegal acts or tried to reason with them. 

After dusk, rioters continued to set fire, block roads, and vandalize facilities throughout various districts. Some masked rioters beat up passerby in Shum Shui Po and Mong Kok, descending those districts into chaos and lawlessness.  

During recent illegal assemblies, black-clad rioters attacked anyone who held different views or tried to reason with them, calling their vigilante violence a "private sentence." The elderly were also targeted as the angry mob viciously beat up ordinary people. When those who voiced their objection to the destruction of public property by rioters, they were relentlessly beaten by rioters. 

On Sunday, a taxi driver was pulled out from his vehicle and severely battered by some masked men at Sham Shui Po until he was on the ground unconscious and covered in blood. 

The taxi driver assaulted by rioters was in serious condition, sources from the Hospital Authority told the Global Times. 

"The atrocities committed by the rioters are far beyond the bottom line of civilized society," the Hong Kong Police Force said, urging rioters to stop all illegal acts.

As violent protests continue to rock the city, increasingly more people were outraged by such mob-controlled street violence which victimizes Hong Kong residents. 

Journalists were also caught in clashes between rioters and the police during the illegal march on Hong Kong Island on Sunday, and one reporter was injured by Molotov cocktails thrown by rioters. 

A woman who may take picture of rioters' damaging behavior was also beaten up by some masked men in Mong Kok. Her head was injured with visible blood loss, according to the police. 

Rioters committed arson at a China Construction Bank branch in Wan Chai and at a Chinese tourism agency. 

As of 7 pm, four injured were sent to the hospital as a result of the rioters' illegal assemblies, and two are in serious condition, according to local media reports citing the Hospital Authority.