HONG KONG, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) operator called for an end to violence on Friday as 125 out of its 162 stations were vandalized during the prolonged unrest.
MTR operation Director Lau Tin-shing told a press conference that the company was facing an unprecedented challenge caused by rioters who had disturbed railway operation, maliciously vandalized stations and facilities inside.
Lau said that as of Oct. 4, 83 out of MTR's 94 rail stations had been vandalized, so had 42 out of its 68 light rail stations.
Sammy Wong, MTR's chief of operations, reported on the destruction made by rioters at the press conference. According to her, a total of 800 access gates, 500 ticketing and Hong Kong' travel card Octopus add-value machines, 400 Octopus machines at light rail stations, 700 CCTV cameras and 12 elevators have been broken during the unrest which started in early June.
And the equipment reserved to replace those facilities is not enough, said Lau.
A video presented at the press conference showed that rioters upgraded their violence as they threw petrol bombs into stations and set fires at entrances, as well as maliciously threw clutters into tracks and at overhead power cables.
Lau criticized the rioters and urged them to stop their escalating violence which had seriously damaged the railway operation, and endangered the safety of passengers and MTR staff.
