The meal and work-related allowances were on top of HK$950 million overtime pay that police have earned since the protests intensified in June, according to the figures released to city legislators on Friday.
MASSIVE PROTESTS CONTINUE
The Chinese-ruled city has been convulsed by more than 900 often violent protests since June, the security bureau said earlier, as public opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill developed into demands for greater freedoms.
The protests have regularly featured ranks of riot police firing volleys of tear gas or baton-charging protesters, often in central business or tourist areas. Police in turn have been attacked with petrol bombs and other projectiles hurled by protesters, many of them masked.
Another HK$85 million was paid out for work-related allowances, it said. The bureau did not give a breakdown but the allowances could include those paid to police who worked undercover or in plainclothes for 30 days.
In a written response to questions from pro-democracy lawmakers, the Civil Service Bureau said HK$50 million in meal allowances had been paid to front-line officers
