July 04, (THEWILL) – Hong Kong’s National Security police on Sunday warned residents against mourning a man who killed himself after stabbing a policeman.
Describing the attacker as politically “radicalised”, the Force said encouraging such memorials was the same as “supporting terrorism”.
The National Security Department in a statement on Sunday, said it has taken over investigation into the July 1 incident when a 50-year-old man, who worked for a soy-milk maker, stabbed a male police officer with a knife from behind before turning it on himself.
Police and government officials have condemned the attack as well as online comments that they say glorify and mourn the perpetrator as a hero.
Some tried to pay tribute to the attacker by laying flowers and observing a moment of silence on Friday, prompting the latest warning from police.
In their Sunday statement, the police said “Advocating members of the public to mourn for the attacker is no different from supporting terrorism. It will incite further hatred, divide the society and eventually breach social order and endanger public safety, threatening every one in Hong Kong.”
Images published by local media from the scene showed some white flowers left by mourners were dumped in trash bins or seized and placed into police vehicles.
The security department said it will investigate whether the attacker had any accomplices or whether he was incited by others to commit the crime, warning that the internet is not “beyond the law.”
Soy-milk producer Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong beverage conglomerate, had confirmed that the man who attacked the officer last week was its employee.
But it had to swiftly apologise and condemn the attack after nationalist backlash on social media in mainland China.
It pledged to support the investigation after the attacker was reported by local media to be a staff member and an internal memo extended condolences to his family, which the company said was sent without its approval.
Hong Kong has become a deeply polarised city, especially since the huge, often violent pro-democracy protests of 2019.
Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have clamped down on dissent using a new national security law, under which a terrorism conviction could carry a life sentence, while promoting, inciting and supporting terrorism could result in up to 10 years in prison.
The political situation has left many companies walking a tightrope as they try not to offend the authorities.
China says its crackdown and national security law are needed to restore stability in Hong Kong. But critics, including many western nations, say Beijing has shredded its promise to let the city maintain certain freedoms and autonomy after its 1997 handover.
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