Hong Kong bomb plot team ‘Dragon Slaying Brigade’ reluctant to use firearms, explosives but leader pressed on, court heard

Plot mastermind Wong Chun-keung said he ‘did not care’ if bombs harmed civilians as long as he could maximise the killing of officers

Wong eventually called off plan, which was to take place on 1 December 2019, after team’s reluctance and absence of member

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Police officers on patrol near the High Court in Admiralty before the trial session of “Dragon Slaying” team members. Xiaomei Chen

Published: 8:36pm, 7 May 2024Updated: 10:15am, 8 May 2024

Members of the “Dragon Slaying Brigade”, a team behind a thwarted 2019 bomb plot targeting Hong Kong police, were reluctant to use firearms and explosives during a protest but its leader pressed on with plans to kill officers, the High Court has heard.

Plot mastermind Wong Chun-keung said on Tuesday in cross-examination by defence that his hatred towards police had been building during the height of the anti-government protests.

He added that he “did not care” if the bombs harmed civilians as long as he could maximise the killing of officers on 1 December 2019, a plan he eventually had to call off due to the absence of a team member.

Wong earlier told the court that under a plan conceived with another ringleader, Ng Chi-hung, his team was to focus on luring police to Hennessy Road during a protest by starting a fire, while Ng’s squad would shoot at the officers and detonate two bombs to be planted in Wan Chai on December 8 that year.

On the second week of testifying, Wong admitted that he proactively asked Ng for firearms to be used in a protest that December, even though his team, comprising about 10 “valiant” protesters, had agreed not to touch firearms or use explosives.

“Our team had reached a consensus that we ourselves would not touch firearms or use explosives,” he said in the witness box.