A taxi driver was beaten by a mob of Hong Kong protesters after he ploughed into a crowd.

The brutal assault happened as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong yesterday to oppose a ban on masks.

The territory's leader, Carrie Lam, has outlawed face coverings in public after four months of pro-democracy protests.

Shocking footage shows a stationary red cab made a sudden left turn and plough into a crowd of people on the road carrying umbrellas. 

Demonstrators are then seen battering the crashed cab with weapons before kicking and punching the driver.

The cabbie was left unconscious, with a swollen and bloodied face, and had to be rushed to hospital by paramedics, 9News reports.

Four people were reportedly taken to hospital after the crash, with three – including the taxi driver – in serious condition.

The flashpoint was one of several violent clashes across the city yesterday, with tensions mounting between protesters, the police and Chinese soldiers.

Some campaigners shone lasers into China's military barracks in the city yesterday.

Troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) issued a warning to the protesters in the first direct interaction between the two parties in four months of demonstrations.

Police fired tear gas and baton-charged the crowds, while some protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at officers as night fell.

Demonstrators now face a maximum of one year in jail for breaking the mask ban, with scores of people arrested under the new rules yesterday.

Officers tied their wrists with cable and unmasked their faces before placing them on buses.

Some protesters lay in foetal positions on the ground, their wrists tied behind their backs, after being subdued with pepper spray and batons.

One student demonstrator, Lee, who was breaking the new rule, said: "The anti-mask law just fuels our anger and more will people come on to the street.

"We are not afraid of the new law, we will continue fighting. We will fight for righteousness. I put on the mask to tell the government that I'm not afraid of tyranny."

China's Hong Kong military garrison warned a crowd of a few hundred protesters they could be arrested for targeting its barracks walls in the city with laser lights.

Soldiers standing on the roof of the building held up a sign in English and Chinese which read: "Warning. You are in breach of the law. You may be prosecuted."

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