Man arrested over threatening to bomb Hong Kong’s Admiralty MTR station
Police say they searched station and found no suspicious objects
Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of threatening to bomb Admiralty MTR station on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month.
Inspector Luke Hung Sze-tat of the Central police district said on Saturday that officers had arrested a 31-year-old local man in his Sha Tin home on Friday evening and seized three imitation guns from the flat.
“Although the crime only involved one person, his threat to place a bomb in one of the busiest and densest MTR stations in Hong Kong prompted us to place much value on the case and to conduct the arrest swiftly,” Hung said.
The force said two residents made a report last Tuesday that an online game player had threatened to bomb the MTR station on February 17, the first day of the holiday.
Hung said officers from the uniformed patrol sub-unit, the emergency unit and counterterrorism response unit searched the station but did not find any suspicious items.
Officers from the Central police district crime squad later identified the man who allegedly posted the threat in an online wargaming chat channel.
The unemployed 31-year-old suspect was also found to possess two imitation rifles, one imitation pistol, a variety of imitation gun parts such as bullet cases, plastic bullets and gas canisters, as well as tactical helmets, vests and belts used for war games.