2,200 Police, Their Families Doxxed in Hong Kong Unrest

Hong Kong police shows an evidence image of violent acts by radical demonstrators during a daily press conference in south China's Hong Kong, Aug. 28, 2019. (Xinhua)

HONG KONG (Xinhua) — Hong Kong Police Force said Tuesday that over 2,200 police officers and their family members have been doxxed since June, as online hate speech groundswelled amid the recent unrest.

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A superintendent of the police force said at a meeting that names and identity card numbers of police officers as well as information on their children’s schools have been illegally obtained and published online.

The cyberspace has seen incendiary messages and rumors about killing the officers, while some conducted harassment in real life. In one case, an officer received over 2,000 harassing phone calls after being doxxed, said Swalikh Mohammed, superintendent of Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong police.

The police force said its officers had been under great pressures due to long hours of work, escalating violence from the protestors, cyber-bullying and assaults to their families. In response, psychological counselling has been stepped up to cover both the officers and their family members.

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