The Hong Kong police department is conducting an investigation of a suspected criminal damage after some niches were found smashed. The location is at a Catholic cemetery in Cheung Sha Wan.
A 62-year-old security guard at St. Raphael's Catholic Cemetery immediately alerted the authorities at around 12:30 pm. This was when he found out that more or less 85 niches were vandalized.
According to the South China Morning Post, there were holes found in the top half of the niches' marble sealing slabs. This is the part where the enamel photographs of the deceased would appear.
Most of the damaged slabs were reportedly from double niches, all of which contain the cremated remains of couples. They also appeared to have been randomly selected between sections 47 and 53.
As of press time, the police have yet to perform arrests. It is also unclear what exactly the motive behind the damages. The authorities are also trying to verify if any property was stolen from the niches.
RTHK reports Father Chan mentioned that the number of security guards patrolling the cemetery was already being doubled to four. And following the recent attacks, security is expected to be even much tighter than before.
He said the Church would make an effort to contact families affected by the vandalism. Although he did not mention a timeline, he hopes to do it as soon as possible.
A woman whose relative is buried at the cemetery told the publication that the security camera surveillance at the site should be expanded. Others expressed the same sentiment and are expecting the authorities to capture the person or group responsible.
Meanwhile, the police have classified the incident as criminal damage. As far as the responsibility of handling the case is concerned, it is said to be the detectives from the Sham Shui Po district criminal investigation team.
Neither the cemetery nor the Catholic Diocese could be reached for comment on Sunday, but they are expected to give out official statements.
St Raphael's is one of five Catholic cemeteries run by the diocese in Hong Kong.
This is not the first case of its kind in the metro. Sometime in 2010, there were also about 40 graves greatly damaged at St Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley in a rare large-scale desecration. This eventually prompted the church to step up with its security to battle such occurrences.
