3 Hong Kong men jailed for up to 32 months for stockpiling home-made bullets and explosives, but judge rejects protests link
- Three are eligible for immediate release as judge finds ‘no useful purpose’ to keep them in jail, after they had already spent up to 33 months in custody
- Police uncovered haul near hiking trail on Hong Kong Island on March 26, 2020, initially saying stash was ‘almost certainly’ for use in protest movement
Three war game enthusiasts have been jailed for up to 32 months for keeping home-made bullets and explosives near a Hong Kong hiking trail and their residences more than two years ago, after a judge rejected initial police assertions the stockpile was intended for use during anti-government protests.
The trio pleaded guilty in the High Court on Tuesday to six charges, after police uncovered the haul at an abandoned pre-war military structure near the Leaping Dragon Walk trail on eastern Hong Kong Island on March 26, 2020.
The court heard the single-storey hut had been used to store 259 rounds of spent bullets, 769 used cartridges and one live round. An array of explosive substances, including firecrackers, party poppers and commercial welding powder, were also found inside a number of bottles and boxes.
Choi Hong-kiu, 23, Chung Ho-hin, 26, and Lam Ka-kan, 25, were seen “moving to and fro” inside the living room of the hillside building when officers went to check the location following a tip-off, prosecutor Noelle Aileen Chit said. They were arrested on the spot.
Further investigations found Chung had kept a spring-powered air gun and a spent shotgun cartridge at his residence in Siu Sai Wan. He had also bought and modified another air gun for his friend Lam, who paid him HK$4,000 (US$514) in return.
Choi pleaded guilty to unlicensed possession of ammunition and keeping explosives. Chung admitted possession of arms and ammunition without a licence, and a third count of giving arms to an unlicensed person. Lam pleaded guilty to unlicensed possession of arms.
