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Macau chief executive defends police firing

05 May 2007 09:14:42 GMT
Source: Reuters

HONG KONG, May 5 (Reuters) - Macau's chief executive defended a police decision to fire warning shots during a May Day march, saying it was aimed at avoiding a stampede.

Lawmakers had criticised the police for firing the shots in the air during the rare protest march that erupted into violence, as authorities investigate if one of the bullets may have injured a passing motorcyclist.

Macau chief executive Edmund Ho said in a statement late on Friday that police had fired the shots to warn off protesters from trampling on one another as some people at the front had started to fall.

It "was neither a means to suppress the demonstration nor was it an order made by a senior police official," he said in a statement late on Friday.

Ho said most demonstrators were rational and proper "but a few had a political motive that led to the disturbance". He did not elaborate.

Macau has been a highly autonomous territory of China since 1999, after more than 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule, and unlike Hong Kong has little history of political protests.

Media had reported that a 50-year-old man had been struck while riding with his son some 300 metres from the May Day rally.

Police confirmed they had fired five shots into the air during the march by demonstrators demanding better labour protection and an end to corruption.

"The government was highly concerned about the passer-by who was hit by a stray bullet," Ho said. An investigation had begun into the incident and the government had paid special attention to the people's views, Ho added.

The man, who was injured in the neck, was taken to hospital, where he is conscious and recovering, a doctor from the hospital, told a news conference earlier this week.

During the march, protesters carried banners and placards about workers' rights and corruption in the former Portuguese enclave. Witnesses said police began beating people with batons and dragged away a number of them when protesters hurled water bottles and tried to break through police cordons.

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Last updated:Sat May 5 09:16:19 2007