- Closure follows assurance from rail giant that video footage from August 31 will not be destroyed for three years
- Elite police officers had chased radical protesters into the station, on the night in question
Hong Kong's rail operator closed a major interchange during the evening rush hour on Friday after crowds of people gathered calling for the release of CCTV footage of police taking action against anti-government protesters at the station on August 31.
Hundreds of people have assembled outside Prince Edward station, blocking at least two lanes of traffic at the intersection of Prince Edward Road West and Nathan Road. They have also been directing their anger towards neighbouring Mong Kok Police Station.
The MTR Corporation announced the station's closure at around 5.15pm, citing safety reasons. Trains on both the Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong lines would run as normal, but not stop at the affected station, the company said.
Before the station closed, people began to leave as word spread, with the station largely empty by 5.25pm.
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The MTR had earlier given assurances that the requested video footage would be kept for three years.
With online rumours swirling it would destroy the CCTV records and calls for it to disclose the video, a spokesman for the operator said: "Normally, our footage will be destroyed after 28 days. But in the event of special incidents that will need to be examined, the relevant footage will be kept for three years."
The spokesman added only authorised people would be allowed to see the footage.
At about 7am on Friday, a black-clad young woman wearing a grey hat and a face mask knelt down outside the station's staff control room, begging the MTR Corp to disclose the CCTV footage. The woman left placards on the floor proclaiming she would go on a hunger strike.
Her action drew a large crowd of supporters and spectators, with another two people joining her in kneeling down three hours later.
The station was shut down for two days after the night of August 31 when members of the Special Tactical Squad, known as Raptors, took action against radical protesters inside the station. Journalists and first aid attendants were all denied entry after the passengers were dispersed.
The trio eventually left at noon after lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, of the Labour Party, came to the station with the MTR reply. He said his lawyers had been helping the victims of the police action and they would apply for a copy of the video record to help with their case.
Police actions at the station had drawn a public outcry as protesters and their supporters accused officers of behaving like gangsters and indiscriminately beating commuters. But the force has been adamant in maintaining officers only went after radicals who had changed their clothes after trashing the station and brawling with other passengers.
A total of 63 people have been arrested in relation to the Prince Edward MTR station incident, for charges including possession of offensive weapons, criminal damage and unlawful assembly.
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There were also rumours that three protesters had died inside the station after it was shut down on August 31.
However, an MTR spokesman strongly denied the allegation. "According to the station record, there was no such thing about people dying inside the station," he said.
An MTR station employee who preferred to remain anonymous said relevant staff had confirmed to him only seven protesters were sent to a hospital via Lai Chi Kok station, a few stops up the line.
He added even if protesters had obtained the video, they might not get the whole picture about what happened inside the station.
"There are a lot of blind spots and hidden corners in Prince Edward station, the CCTV cameras do not cover every angle," he said.
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After the crowds left Prince Edward station on Friday, hundreds gathered at exit B1, where residents placed flowers and built a makeshift Chinese shrine.
They were chanting slogans such as "five demands, not one less", directed at Mong Kok Police Station, which is next to the exit.
Commuters were having to make alternative travel arrangements during the station's closure on Friday.
A domestic worker, who declined to give her name, was on her way to pick up her employer's child when confronted with the closed station.
"I don't know what is happening. How do I get to Wong Tai Sin now?" she said, before deciding to take a bus.
"I'm going to be late. I need to go back."
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