Hong Kong police reportedly used pepper spray again to disperse a group of protesters who broke off and entered malls during a protest on Sunday in Tuen Mun town in the New Territories, near the border with the mainland.

Hong Kong Indigenous, the organizer of the Sunday rally, reported on its Facebook page the alleged use of the pepper spray and batons by policemen, resulting to the injuries of several properties.

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It was the first use again of pepper spray since the large pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong in 2014 that worsened into violent clashes between the demonstrators and the cops.

The rally last Sunday was to show protests of locals of the large volume of merchants from mainland China, which they blamed for disrupting their everyday living and worsening the state of public transportation in the special administrative region.

The protest on Sunday was actually peaceful, but a group broke off and entered malls even if the police warned them against demonstrating inside shopping centers.

The police arrested 10 protesters who were yelling at the enforcers and mainland tourists. Some stores had to close early because of the disruption the protesters caused.

The police also arrested several protesters who disliked the presence of parallel traders in Hong Kong's trains and subways. These entrepreneurs buy products at low prices and carry them in bulk aboard mass transit facilities.

The increase in tourist quotas was allowed by Hong Kong authorities to boost the city's economy. The move was complemented by the malls with free bus rides, bloating the number of arrivals from the mainland to Tuen Mun between 10,000 and 12,000 people within three hours.

Tagspepper spray, Hong Kong