November 15, 2024
HONG KONG – The mastermind of a bomb plot targeting the Hong Kong Police Force in 2019 was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months in prison on Thursday.
During social unrest in December 2019, a group claiming to be the “Dragon Slaying Brigade” plotted to plant two bombs in a busy area during a protest on Hong Kong Island and to attack police with firearms and other weapons. Police arrested several individuals before the operation, thwarting the plot.
The Department of Justice cited the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance for the first time in a prosecution since the ordinance’s enactment in 2002, and seven defendants were sentenced in the High Court to prison terms ranging from five years to 23 years and 10 months.
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Leader of the “Dragon Slaying Brigade” Wong Chun-keung was sentenced to a total of 13 years and six months for charges related to the explosives case, to which he admitted guilt, and another charge associated with terrorist activities.
The mastermind who orchestrated the plan and invited the “Dragon Slaying Brigade” to participate, Ng Chi-hung, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months for charges of explosives and one count of illegal possession of arms or ammunition.
Another defendant who planned to act as a shooter in the incident, admitted to conspiring to commit murder and two other charges related to the illegal use of arms or ammunition, was sentenced to an overall prison term of 12 years for the three charges.
The remaining defendants were sentenced to 10 years and 10 months, 10 years, nine years, and five years and 10 months, respectively.
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During the trial, the prosecution said that one of the bombs the defendant intended to detonate had a blast radius of up to 400 meters and was packed with around 150 iron nails, which would have posed a serious threat to nearby residential areas and gas stations, potentially resulting in injuries and casualties.
During sentencing, Judge Judianna Wai-ling Barnes said that Ng had played an active role in planning the case, recruiting others and personally crafting the bomb. The judge expressed shock at the malicious nature of Ng’s act in adding metal nails to the bomb.