Hong Kong action choreographer linked to bomb plot, charged with possessing array of weapons
- The fitness trainer-turned-action choreographer was arrested along with a 72-year-old retiree and two others in Friday raids
- Prosecution says duo was in phone contact with alleged bomb conspirators arrested in December
A Hong Kong action movie choreographer has been linked to an alleged plot to target police officers with a remote-controlled bomb and charged with possessing an array of weapons in his Kwun Tong workshop.
James Chan Cho-ko, 54, who also acted in a 2019 movie about undercover police and gangs, was among three men and one woman arrested on Friday after police raided a trio of Kowloon district locations.
He appeared in West Kowloon Court on Sunday alongside 72-year-old retiree Chan Kin-tat. The men faced two counts each in relation to possessing arms, ammunition and weapons. The others arrested were released on bail without charge.
But he said the prosecution was unclear about the defendants’ motives in holding the weapons and asked to adjourn the case for further investigation.
James Chan, a fitness trainer who earned a number of behind-the-scenes credits in the past decade before playing a role in the 2019 movie Undercover Punch and Gun, faced one count each of possessing offensive weapons and prohibited weapons.
He allegedly possessed two axes, a pair of military knives, a Japanese sword, two catapults, two packets of plastic pellets and one of metal pellets, inside his workshop in Kwun Tong’s Shing Yip Industrial Building. Police also accused him of possessing prohibited weapons including three pair of brass knuckles, one nunchaku and a push dagger.
Chan Kin-tat, meanwhile, was charged with possessing a flare gun and 38 flares at his flat in Jordan along with eight knives, 82 arrows, one bow and three bow racks.
He was charged with one count of possessing arms or ammunition without a licence, and one of possessing offensive weapons.
Acting chief magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen granted bail of HK$10,000 to James Chan, provided he remains in Hong Kong and reports to police twice a week. Chan Kin-tat was remanded in custody.
The pair will appear in Tuen Mun Court on March 30 alongside the three suspects arrested in December.
The trio – Chui Tin-lok, Kwan Ka-yiu, and Freeman Ho Kin-chung – were charged in Tuen Mun Court over a conspiracy to wound police officers with intent to do them grievous bodily harm, by manufacturing a detonation device that can be set off from 50 meters. All were denied bail.
