Hong Kong martial arts instructor behind ‘ghost-killer squad’ sentenced to 5 years in jail for inciting subversion
- Denis Wong, 60, pleaded guilty to inciting subversion by urging others to join paramilitary training sessions and to possession of unlicensed weapons
- Student of Wong was sentenced to 16 months behind bars for keeping crossbows at home
The District Court heard on Friday that Denis Wong Tak-keung’s offence was serious as he had devised “solid plans” to overthrow the Chinese and Hong Kong governments and had aroused resentment of the authorities.
The 60-year-old pleaded guilty earlier this month to inciting subversion by urging others to join his paramilitary training sessions in preparation for a “violent revolution” and the establishment of “a shadow government and an independent Hong Kong state”.
He and 62-year-old marketing manager Iry Cheung Man-chee, one of his 20 students, also pleaded guilty to possessing arms without a licence in connection with a total of seven crossbows seized from their respective homes. Cheung was jailed for 16 months.
Judge Ernest Michael Lin Kam-hung, who was approved to sit on the case by the city’s leader, said the martial arts coach had already taken steps to try to alter the status quo by giving classes on combat and stockpiling weapons.