Hong Kong, May 03: Macau police have arrested a trade union leader for allegedly assaulting an Australian man during weekend May Day protests that left 41 people injured, a report said Monday.
Hong Kong daily The Standard said police charged Lei Sio-kuan, president of the Macau Workers Power Union, with wounding following the Saturday clashes which saw riot police use water cannon and pepper spray on demonstrators.
Protesters fought back with stones and bottles, local media said.
A Macau government statement sent on Monday confirmed that a man with the surname Lei was arrested, but a spokeswoman would not confirm his first name.
The Standard quoted Lei denying that he had struck the Australian man, who was not identified.
“I only told the man to walk on the other side of the road,” Lei told the paper.
He could not be immediately reached for comment.
The protest erupted in violence after protesters tried to force their way through police barricades to march along a main road where Macau’s main casinos and tourist attractions are located, local media reported.
About 41 people were injured in the melee, including two journalists and 32 policemen, with three people taken for hospital treatment, the government said.
One person was discharged while a 60-year-old man and a female journalist remained in hospital in stable condition, the government said Monday.
Local media reported that nearly 1,000 people joined the march, to demand job protection and tough action against illegal workers in the southern Chinese territory, the only place in China that allows casino gambling.
They also demanded action against corruption as well as financial help to offset inflation, a growing worry as soaring gambling revenue raises prices in the former Portuguese colony, which was returned to Chinese rule in 1999.
In nearby Hong Kong several thousand protesters marched through the streets Saturday to demand a minimum wage of 33 Hong Kong dollars (4.20 US) an hour and better job protection.
—Agencies