Advertisement
Hong Kong copyright bill
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Man found with ingredients for smoke bomb at Legco copyright rally: Lighters, masks, gloves also found

Police stop man heading to anti-copyright rally with 1kg of potassium chlorate

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A man in custody after police found 1kg of an explosive ingredient. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Danny Mok

Police have found an explosive ingredient on a 20-year old student they said was heading towards the heavily secured rally at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

The man was detained after police found on him a kilogram of potassium chlorate, locally dubbed “smoke cake”, in eight separate pieces, Senior inspector Clement Li Ka-ming of Hong Kong Island Regional Crime Unit said.

“Burning just two grams of the chemical will make a large amount of white smoke. So you can imagine how it could stir up panic in a crowd if 1 kg of it was burned,” Li said.

Advertisement

It is also an ingredient in gunpowder and fireworks and creates intense flame. Instructions to make and use the chemical can be found on YouTube.

WATCH: A gas canister rips through a Legco rubbish bin a week ago, setting security on edge

Police stopped the man at the Admiralty Centre while he was walking towards the Tamar Park area where a small gas canister was used to destroy a rubbish bin a week ago in a fiery explosion.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x