Councillor says he was the target of bomb scare
Ma On Shan devices meant to disrupt estate owners' corporation poll: police
A district councillor who thinks he was the target of two bombing attempts at a home ownership scheme estate in Ma On Shan said yesterday he may apply for round-the-clock police protection.
Police say the bombs are probably linked to the estate owners' corporation election, from which Law Kwong-keung emerged as chairman this week.
Officers yesterday interviewed the councillor, who said they were focusing on his work with the owners' corporation and whether he had disputes with others.
'I try not to think [about my safety]; it is my family that is the most concerned,' Mr Law said. 'They have not asked me to stop getting involved with the corporation's work, but other relatives and friends have.'
The district councillor said he had not receive any bomb threat before the explosives were planted but he did receive phone calls warning him not to run in the election.
Two homemade bombs, which police described as non-lethal, were found at Saddle Ridge Garden in Ma On Shan on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
They had been placed inside cartons that carried warnings telling people not to touch them. The boxes were under the stage where estate residents held the election to choose a new owners' corporation chairman.
The residents had also discussed the issue of hiring a new management company for the estate.
The first bomb was found soon after the election began on Wednesday night, and the second one was found by cleaners on Thursday morning when workers dismantled the stage.
Bomb disposal experts conducted a controlled detonation at the scene.
Officers from the Police Tactical Unit also launched a large-scale search with the help of sniffer dogs at the estate for leads after the incident.
Senior Superintendent Patrick Chan Kwok-keung, head of the New Territories South Regional crime wing, said no one had been arrested.
'The bomb was not lethal - it just contained fireworks and firecrackers. We believe it was not intended to inflict injuries but instead was an attempt to disrupt election proceedings,' he said.
'At the moment the most important thing is not to chase the sources but stop similar events from happening and causing panic among the public.'
The Ma On Shan bomb scare came less than a week after another homemade bomb went off at one of the busiest shopping areas of Mongkok, injuring two people.
The bomb was placed at a foreign exchange shop in Nelson Street on Saturday and coins and banknotes were blown into the street along with glass fragments and other debris.
