Hong Kong police have launched an investigation into hundreds of fans who booed China's national anthem at a crowded shopping mall, according to South China Morning Post.

The incident occurred during a live broadcast of Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long receiving Hong Kong's first gold medal since 1996 at the Tokyo Olympics.

Booed & tried to drown national anthem with "We are Hong Kong" chant

As Cheung stood on the winners' podium, China's national anthem, prompting some people in the crowd to start booing and jeering.

Online clips also revealed that many people within the crowd began shouting "We are Hong Kong", drowning out the sound of the Chinese national anthem.

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They kept up their chants until the end of the anthem, after which they continued to cheer for Cheung.

According to SCMP, the Hong Kong police will be collecting evidence from the shopping mall, including footage from security cameras.

A spokesperson with Sun Hung Kai Properties, the owner of the mall, confirmed that the mall will fully cooperate with the police investigation.

According to AFP, the police are looking into whether the fans had broken the law, and that that investigation would cover "any insulting acts" towards the national anthem.

If convicted of misusing or insulting the national anthem, individuals could be jailed for three years and fined up to HK$50,000 (S$8,700), under the national anthem law.

Top image via Twitter/The 852 Spirit & YouTube/NPR.