HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Small groups of anti-government protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong on Sunday (Dec 15) amid sporadic scuffles with riot police, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam away on a visit to Beijing.

In the peak shopping season ahead of Christmas, groups of masked protesters, clad in black, marched through malls chanting slogans including "Fight for freedom" and "Return justice to us".