Bomb plotter faces life imprisonment for conspiring to attack Hong Kong police in 2019
- Prosecutors say Kwan Ka-yiu, 32, helped source necessary equipment and identified venues for testing explosives
A man faces the prospect of life imprisonment after a Hong Kong court convicted him of conspiring with a radical group to attack police with a remote-controlled bomb at the height of the anti-government protests five years ago.
A seven-member High Court jury on Friday reached a majority verdict of six to one following more than four hours of deliberations to convict Kwan Ka-yiu, 32, of a conspiracy to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or to cause serious injury to property.
The two other defendants in the case earlier pleaded guilty before the 20-day trial.
Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee adjourned the case until August to hear pleas of mitigation from the defence before sentencing.
She called for a background report on Kwan, who had refused to disclose information about his family to the court.
Police arrested Kwan after he joined school laboratory assistant Chui Tin-lok and electrical technician Freeman Ho Kin-chung to test an improvised explosive device on a hillside in Tuen Mun on December 14, 2019.
Chui, who was then working at SKH St Simon’s Lui Ming Choi Secondary School in Tuen Mun, and Ho pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy offence in January last year.