Mong Kok streets left in disarray after Lunar New Year night of violence

As Mong Kok regained a sense of calm this morning it still bore the scars of a night of chaos.

Streets were burned, and pavements were ripped up to be used as crude missiles in overnight street battles with riot police.

At Soy Street, centre of last night’s violence, a street sign was wrenched from the concrete in an attempt to turn it into another weapon.

While Lunar New Year shopping carried on around the popular area, the mood had shifted noticeably. Police patrolled the streets with dogs, and government officials put up signs asking Hongkongers not to patronise street food vendors.

Overnight unrest erupted after Portland Street hawkers were inspected by officials from the government’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and told to shut down. The officials were surrounded and called police, senior officers said. The situation escalated after two hours of protest turned into riots in the streets which lasted until about 8am.

More than 40 police were injured in the violence, and 54 people had been arrested, police said.