Leader of alleged 2019 Hong Kong bomb plot tells court his team not told of potential danger or where explosives would be
- ‘Dragon Slaying Brigade’ leader Wong Chun-keung tells High Court alleged plot accomplice had never told him exactly where two bombs would be placed
- He adds his team only agreed to lure police into trap on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai on day of anti-government protest march in 2019
The leader of the “Dragon Slaying Brigade”, the organisation alleged to be behind a foiled 2019 bomb plot to target Hong Kong police officers, did not warn his group of the potential danger or tell them where the explosives were to be placed, the High Court was told on Wednesday.
The brigade’s head Wong Chun-keung said he was left in the dark by alleged accomplice Ng Chi-hung about where two bombs would be planted by the morning of December 8, 2019, the day a lawful protest was held.
Wong, who was giving evidence for the prosecution, told a defence lawyer for one of six men charged with conspiracy to plant the two bombs that he thought telling his team to “follow him and listen to his orders” during the protest was enough to maintain their safety.
“Did you tell them the bomb could injure them [when it went off]? … do you think it was fair not to tell them that they could get themselves killed in this?” Thomas Iu, who appeared for defendant Cheung Ming-yu, asked Wong.
Wong told Iu his team was aware that bombs and firearms were to be used and that they only agreed to take part in luring police into a trap on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.
Wong added that his group had agreed they would not touch firearms or use explosives, but that the squad led by Ng would detonate two bombs and open fire on officers.
Cheung, along with Cheung Chun-fu, Yim Man-him, Christian Lee Ka-tin, Lai Chun-pong and Justin Hui Cham-wing, are all charged with conspiracy to plant the two bombs.
A seventh defendant, Lau Pui-ying, is charged with conspiracy to provide or collect property to commit terrorist acts.
Wong and Ng earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to plant the explosives.
Iu told the court Wong had never told his team about the details of the plan, even during two meetings just days before the December 8 protest march during the 2019 civil unrest.
Wong explained he was never told exactly where the bombs would be.
He said Ng had sent him a map on December 5, which only gave a rough indication that one bomb would be left near a petrol station on Hennessy Road and the other close to police headquarters in Wan Chai.
“I only knew which area the bombs would be planted, but where exactly they were located, how they were covered, I had no idea before the morning of December 8,” Wong told the court.
He added that his team members were staying in a flat opposite the petrol station involved, but that he had no idea how powerful the explosion might be.
He added that he and Ng were supposed to meet on the morning of December 8, but that he had been arrested before they could get together.
Mrs Justice Judianna Barnes asked Wong whether he had ever explicitly told his team members they could pull out of the plot if they wanted to. He said that he had not.
But Wong insisted he had delivered a “clear message” to them that they could opt out anytime.
Iu highlighted that Wong had never asked the team to pack up their belongings and be ready to flee to Taiwan if the plot was successfully carried out.
But Wong said he had not been in charge of the escape plan.
He added another team member had linked up with an unknown individual in Taiwan, who had claimed to be able to organise accommodation, jobs and identification papers for the team after they arrived on the self-ruled island.
“But I was told to leave alone so that our team members would not get entangled with me,” Wong said.
He added that his plan was to arrange for the rest of his squad to follow him after he had arrived in Taiwan.
Wong insisted that he had never planned to leave his team behind in Hong Kong and that he had put aside HK$300,000 (US$38,370) to cover their expenses after they settled in Taiwan.
The trial continues.
