MONGKOK, HONG KONG — A prominent leader in the Hong Kong protests is in stable condition following an attack by unknown assailants.
According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Civil Human Rights Front leader Jimmy Sham was en route to a meeting in Mong Kok on Tuesday night when he was attacked by four to five men wielding hammers.
The South China Morning Post reports that fellow CHRF member Figo Chan said bystanders attempted to save Sham during the ambush, but one of the attackers pointed a knife at them.
According to police, officers found Sham in the street bleeding from his head and arms. His assailants fled in a car, and as yet remain unidentified.
He luckily suffered no damage to his brain or bones, reports the Hong Kong Free Press, and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The attack on Sham is the second to occur since the anti-government protests in Hong Kong began. In August, he and a friend were attacked at a restaurant in Kowloon by two masked men with a baseball bat and steel rod. Sham was unharmed, but his friend sustained serious bruises from being hit with the bat.
The CHRF strongly condemned the incident, and accused the attackers of spreading political terror to threaten people from going out onto the streets and fighting for their rights.
The South China Morning Post reports that Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting described the assault as clearly politically motivated, and accused police of failing to protect opposition politicians and activists.
