Hong Kong Occupy Central founders surrender

Benny Tai (right), an original founder of the pro-democracy Occupy movement, with (from left) Chinese Cardinal of the Catholic Church and former bishop of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen, and Occupy Central co-leaders Chu Yiu-ming and Chan Kin-man surrender to police in Hong Kong on Dec 3, 2014. (Photo:AFP)The three co-founders of the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement which has become Hong Kong's biggest civic disobedience campaign turned themselves in to the police on Wednesday.

Dozens of people joined the three - academics Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, as they showed up at the Central Police Station near Sheung Wan, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported. They included former Cardinal Joseph Zen, members of the opposition Democratic Party and civic activists.

Dozens of opponents of the Occupy movement staged a protest near the station, saying that the trio had damaged Hong Kong. Large numbers of police officers, meanwhile, stood on stand-by at the site to keep the two groups separate, RTHK said.

Mr Tai later tweeted to say they were allowed to "leave with no restrictions" after filling in a form which required them to "tick from list of offences on custom form, including taking part in unauthorised assembly, incitement, criminal damage".

straitstimes.com