Police on Wednesday said it used pepper spray to subdue a woman after she refused to wear a face mask and assaulted an officer on duty in northern Hong Kong.
Shortly before 6:30 pm (local time) on Tuesday, police were called to a supermarket in Chi Cheong Road, Sheung Shui when the woman had an argument with the workers at the market. She was arrested for not wearing the mask, attacking a police officer and failing to produce an identity card, South China Morning Post reported.
The woman failed to abide by the police's instructions to put on the mask and produce an identity document.
"She then became emotional and attacked a policeman. After she ignored our repeated warnings, police used pepper spray to subdue her," a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Police Force said.
A policeman sustained injuries in the incident and was rushed to North District Hospital for treatment.
The woman is still being questioned and has not been charged yet as of Wednesday morning. Detectives from the Tai Po criminal investigation unit are probing the matter, according to South China Morning Post.
The Hong Kong government has made wearing of masks mandatory at all indoor public places to contain the spread of COVID-19. It has also stepped up measures to extend the rule of wearing masks in all public venues from Wednesday.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Hong Kong has 2,884 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 23 deaths.
( With inputs from ANI )