A 13-year-old girl has been arrested for allegedly burning the flag of the People's Republic of China during the latest spate of protests in Hong Kong on Sep. 21.

She was detained overnight and released on bail by the afternoon of Sep. 22, Hong Kong media RTHK reported.

Flag desecration happened at a police-approved march

According to The Guardian and The South China Morning Post (SCMP), the incident took place at a police-approved march in Tuen Mun.

Initially, the march was aimed at demanding greater regulation of middle-aged women from mainland China, whose song-and-dance performances in parks are seen as public nuisances by residents.

However, the march morphed into an anti-government protest, with protesters lowering the flag outside Tuen Mun's government offices, then proceeding to trample on it and attempting to set it ablaze.

Subsequently, the march descended into violence, with the police utilising tear gas, pepper spray and shields against the protesters, while the protesters threw petrol bombs and set makeshift barricades on fire.

Flag of China burnt and trampled a second time on Sunday

But that was not the only time that protesters targeted the flag.

On Sunday, Sep. 22, protesters took to Sha Tin Mall to target businesses that were deemed to be pro-government, Hong Kong Free Press reported.

A Chinese flag was removed outside Sha Tin Town Hall, then taken into the mall by protesters, who trampled the flag, painted it black, poured water on it and jabbed it with an umbrella.

A video by Reuters showed the protesters hoisting and running with the dirtied flag afterwards, to cheers from the crowd.

Afterwards, the flag was put into a rubbish bin that was then thrown into a pond at Sha Tin park.

The flag was then taken out and thrown into the Shing Mun River.

Back in August, protesters in Tsim Sha Tsui also tossed a PRC flag into Victoria Harbour.

Up to three years' jail for desecrating the flag of China

The New York Times (NYT) reported that under Hong Kong law, the penalty for desecrating the China flag is a fine of nearly S$6,400 (S$8,809), and a jail term of up to three years.

The city's law defines children as below 14 years of age.

While children aged 10 or older can be found guilty of committing crimes, they cannot be sentenced to prison if they are under 14 years old.

16th week of protests

The Guardian further highlighted that the protests over the weekend mark the 16th consecutive week of protests in Hong Kong.

Additionally, the protests come less than 10 days ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1.

Chinese authorities are expected to ramp up security measures so as to prevent any incidents from marring the occasion.

Reuters reported that a scheduled fireworks display has been called off, and that the city has begun cleaning up in the wake of the weekend protests.

Top photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images