A mainlander reportedly physically assaulted a lecturer conducting class at the University of Hong Kong on Monday. The attacker claimed that the assault was prompted by the failure of the professor to lecture the class in Mandarin, as reported by the Ming Pao Daily on Tuesday.

The lecturer attacked by the mainlander was identified as Cliff Buddle. In accordance with the report published regarding the incident, Buddle works as an editor at South China Morning Post. In addition, he is a professor of media law, but only works part-time.

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Authorities disclosed that Buddle was attacked using a file folder. He was also kicked by the suspect. The physical confrontation caused the media law lecturer to incur injuries in his hands and chest. Buddle was subsequently transported to the Queen Mary Hospital for the treatment of his wounds.

Arresting officers only disclosed that the attacker is a 26-year-old man. In addition, the suspect purportedly claims that he is a student enrolled at Tsinghua University located in Beijing, as stated by the report.

According to the attacked professor, he noticed that the suspect sat at the back portion of the lecture room. Buddle then said that the 26-year-old man unexpectedly moved towards his direction when the class was nearing its conclusion.

The attacker then began verbally attacking Buddle prior to the assault, but the latter claimed to have been unable to understand anything the former said. Moreover, the lecturer asserted that it was the first time he ever came face to face with the attacker. Following the verbal attack, Buddle then claimed to have been kicked in his chest.

Testimonies from the witnesses of the physical attack said that the 26-year-old man was angered by the fact that Buddle's lecture was not delivered in Mandarin. They claimed that the words Buddle failed to understand pertained to the man's frustration over the lecturer's failure to teach in the aforementioned language.

When confronted regarding the attack, the 26-year-old man explained that his actions were reasonable as class discussions in Hong Kong should be spoken in Mandarin following its reversion to China.

TagsUniversity of Hong Kong, Cliff Buddle, physical attack, Hong Kong