TRAFFIC along the main roads of Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district began flowing again yesterday afternoon after bailiffs cleared barricades and tents erected by demonstrators on Nathan Road.

    Nearly 150 protesters, including student leader Joshua Wong, were arrested during the confrontation, Hong Kong media said. Offenses included resisting police, illegal assembly, possession of weapons and attacking police.

    Bailiffs had been brought in to clear the Mong Kok protest camps in accordance with a court order obtained by local business interests, following complaints that the protests have disrupted life in the territory.

    Police met little significant resistance yesterday morning as they began clearing the road, ordering demonstrators to disperse. Some protesters were seen assisting authorities in dismantling shelters, others were tackled to the ground and detained by police as they attempted to block the clearance efforts.

    The clearance operation followed a smaller one to reopen Argyle Street on Tuesday.

    On another development, seven police officers who allegedly beat protester Ken Tsang Kin-chiu have been arrested on charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, police said last night.  (SD-Agencies)