BofA Director Charged in Hong Kong After Scuffle With Police

(Bloomberg) -- A Bank of America Corp. anti-bribery and compliance director in Hong Kong was charged with assaulting a police officer after an altercation in a metro station over the weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The director, a 35-year-old American, was released on HK$10,000 ($1,300) bail and faces another hearing on Feb. 4, Oriental Daily and other media reported. Bank of America spokesman Mark Tsang declined to comment. Hong Kong police confirmed they had arrested a 35-year-old foreigner for obstructing and assaulting an officer seeking to stop a turnstile jumper.

The BofA employee is the latest Hong Kong banking professional to become entangled in the turmoil that has roiled the financial hub over the past six months. A Citigroup Inc. banker was detained last month after a scuffle with police, while BNP Paribas SA in September issued a public apology over pro-protest social media posts by one of its employees.

The turbulence has made office life tense in Hong Kong with firms across the city urging workers to prioritize their safety. The violence of the protests has subsided recently. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of marchers walked through central Hong Kong, in a largely peaceful gathering calling for greater freedom and democracy.

At a press conference on Monday, police said they made 42 protest-related arrests during the weekend, bringing the total to more than 6,000 since June. Police have fired 16,000 rounds of tear gas, 10,000 rubber bullets, 2,000 bean bag rounds and 1,850 sponge grenades over the past six months.

--With assistance from Shelly Banjo and Stephen Tan.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net;Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Aaron Mc Nicholas in Hong Kong at amcnicholas2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Candice Zachariahs at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net, Jonas Bergman

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