Three ex-lawmakers arrested in Hong Kong

Police in Hong Kong said they had arrested three former lawmakers on Wednesday morning over May and June incidents in which foul-smelling liquid was thrown in the city's legislature, an act police said was intended to cause harm.

Libby Hogan reports.

Three ex-lawmakers in Hong Kong were arrested on Wednesday morning over May and June incidents when foul-smelling liquid was thrown in the city's legislature.

The pro-democracy former legislators Ted Hui, Ray Chan and Eddie Chu Hoi-dick confirmed the arrests on their Facebook pages.

The news comes after Hong Kong's opposition lawmakers resigned en masse last week in protest against the dismissal of four colleagues, in a move they see as another push by Beijing to suppress democracy in the city.

The walkout by the opposition means an end to one of the few forums for dissent in Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the city.

Back in June, live TV footage showed lawmakers Eddie Chu and Ray Chan, rushing to the front of the chamber, splashing the reeking fluid as guards grabbed them, during a debate over a controversial bill that would criminalize disrespect of China's national anthem.

And in May, Ted Hui dropped a rotten plant in the middle of the meeting, which officers said disturbed the legislative proceedings and mentally disturbed the council's president.

Police said that after an in-depth investigation, the three men had been charged with attempting to use harmful substances, with the intent to cause harm to others.

Ted Hui was later released on bail: "I condemn what the regime is doing against us, people with democratic values, people who speak for the core value of Hong Kong." Opposition members have tried to take a stand against what many people see as Beijing's clampdown on Hong Kong's freedoms, despite a promise of autonomy for 50 years under a "one country, two systems"agreement after the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

China denies curbing rights and freedoms in the global financial hub.