Arrests thwarted plan to attack Hong Kong police by rigging shrine with explosives, prosecution tells court

The six defendants are accused of involvement with three other bomb attacks that targeted Caritas Medical Centre, Shenzhen Bay port and an MTR train

One man was alleged to have kept 2,589kg of explosive material in a commercial flat in the city’s Tai Kok Tsui area

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Alleged bomb plotters had planned to create a mock shrine near the site where Hongkongers were grieving the death of Alex Chow then blow it up when police officer approached. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 4:01pm, 11 Mar 2020Updated: 9:51pm, 11 Mar 2020

Six Hongkongers associated with a trio of bomb plots earlier this year intended to stage a fourth attack against police at a protest just three days ago, a court heard on Wednesday, while two opposition councillors were arrested for allegedly obstructing the investigation.

The defendants, who were charged at Sha Tin Court, allegedly conspired to injure officers with explosives during a Sunday protest in Tseung Kwan O.

Protesters had gathered in the area on Sunday night to pay tribute to the late Alex Chow Tsz-lok, who died after falling from a building during a protest last November.

Senior public prosecutor William Siu Kai-yip told the court the plan was to plant a bomb inside a mock shrine, then remotely set it off when police officers approached it.

One of two explosive devices found at the MTR’s Lo Wu station on February 2. Photo: Handout

But the defendants were arrested along with 11 others before the attack could be carried out, Siu told acting principal magistrate Daniel Tang Siu-hung.