Parents, teachers called out as students make up half of arrests

HONG KONG - Hong Kong police called for teachers and parents to do their part in preventing young people being exploited and their futures ruined, as the force revealed on Thursday that about half of the 396 people arrested for their roles in unlawful assemblies on Wednesday are students.

Of this number, about 80 were juveniles while the youngest was only 12.

They were arrested for taking part in unauthorized assemblies, or possessing offensive weapons on the day when the city's legislature resumed the second reading of the long-delayed National Anthem Bill. The city's legislature completed the second reading on Thursday. The bill, which makes it an offense to insult March of the Volunteers, will be voted on in June after a third reading.

Police revealed that several petrol bombs and iron nails were found in a 14-year-old boy's backpack on Wednesday – a day of extensive violence and obstructions in multiple locations across the city. This included the busy districts of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.

Police urged teachers and parents to pay more attention to young people to better protect them.