© Reuters / Laurel ChorProtesters vandalize a store in the neighbourhood of Hung Hom in Hong Kong, China December 1, 2019.
The video, filmed on Saturday night, shows several masked protesters confronting a 53-year-old man who attempts to clear a roadblock outside the Prince Edward railway station in Mong Kok. The man takes out his phone, apparently to film the assailants, when one of them suddenly strikes him on the head with the metal cover. The attacker promptly flees the scene, while the bloodied victim falls and loses consciousness for several seconds.
The man later managed to regain his senses as he was being treated for injuries. He was admitted to a hospital and discharged. Police said his phone was stolen and reiterated that they "absolutely do not tolerate anyone who uses violence to achieve any goals."
Violent protesters were previously filmed scuffling with volunteers who were trying to remove makeshift barricades, and hurled stones and petrol bombs at them. Last month, a 70-year-old street cleaner was killed after being hit with a brick, reportedly thrown by a masked rioter.
Comment: The violence exhibited by some of the Hong Kong protesters is unprecedented - not to mention horrifying - and the evidence of the meddling by foreign governments, such as the US, is damning: