A man and woman have been arrested in Hong Kong after having a connection with an incident involving a police sergeant. The latter reportedly opened fire on a car being driven at him in the New Territories last month.
According to South China Morning Post, the 36-year-old surnamed Wan was detained in Sheung Shui for various offenses. This includes attempted wounding, drug possession, furious driving, and the unauthorized use of a vehicle.
The 42-year-old woman, on the other hand, is surnamed Ng and was arrested in Ta Kwu Ling for attempted wounding. She was later on released on bail, though there are pending further inquiries. She will also report back to the police in early October. Neither of the two was charged, though.
On Saturday, investigators were able to bring Wan to Lam Kam Road Interchange, particularly at the junction of Fanling Highway and Lam Kam Road in Tai Po. It was meant to reconstruct the incident on August 30, which basically involved a high-speed chase, Yahoo! News reports.
The chase occurred after police received information about a stolen van.
A 23-year-old employee of a flour company alerted the authorities and informed seeing a stolen company van being driven on Jockey Club Road in Sheung Shui. The vehicle had been previously reported missing.
Using his own delivery van, the employee decided to give chase. After a 5km high-speed pursuit to the interchange in Tai Po, the police were able to intercept the stolen vehicle after it and the delivery van collided.
The driver of the stolen van ran out and fled on foot before jumping into a car. When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the sergeant fired one shot at it as it headed towards him.
The car then fled towards Tai Po and officers later found it abandoned near the town's Kwong Fuk Estate. Inside the van, they found trace amounts of what was suspected to be the drug "Ice".
Superintendent Kitty Chan Yi-ping of the New Territories North Regional Crime headquarters had defended the sergeant's decision to open fire on the vehicle, suggesting it was "legal" due to the circumstances.
However, she pointed out that the police would investigate the incident accordingly. After all, according to her, it was the protocol for all cases involving officers discharging their firearms.
"Given the threat to his life, the sergeant had no choice but to fire one shot at the target," Chan said. "Police have very stringent standards on the use of force and in this incident, the sergeant had complied with all these standards."
