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Chris Lau

A teenager who struggled in school and ended up taking a bomb to Aberdeen Police Station in a comic-inspired revenge plot, was sentenced to six years in jail on Wednesday.
Sentencing Leung Kwok-hung at the High Court, Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping noted that the 17-year-old had gone off the rails after being diagnosed with dyslexia in Form 1. He dropped out of school the following year.
Leung had since suffered a string of mental conditions, including schizophrenia, and had withdrawn from others.
When he tried to attack the police station on October 28, 2014, Leung had suicidal thoughts, a psychological report showed.
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Leung earlier pleaded guilty to one count of making explosives with intent to endanger life or property, and another of attempting to cause an explosion.
“If the defendant had been given proper guidance and treatment, he would have led a constructive life,” said the judge.
But without treatment, Leung headed down a “path of destruction”, she added. “The case caused me a great difficulty in assessing the right sentence for protection of the public as against the defendant’s youth, punishment and rehabilitation,” she said.
She said the two serious charges, each with a maximum sentence of 20 years, would at least merit 10 years in prison. She sentenced Leung to nine years, saying that she still wanted him to “see light at the other end of the tunnel”.
His sentence was further reduced by three years because he pleaded guilty.
The court heard earlier Leung wanted revenge on police for mistreating him when he was arrested for burglary three years earlier, and concocted his plan based on a comic book.
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He taught himself to make the explosives and produced five tubes in four days using materials bought with pocket money from his parents, both on welfare.
In October 2014, Leung presented the test tubes, made of Triacetone Triperoxide, or TATP, at the station report room and threatened to detonate them.
Several officers subdued him, after a struggle.
According to a bomb disposal officer, the detonation of a single bottle would have seriously injured Leung as well as officers within half a metre.
A subsequent search of his Aberdeen home found tools and a large stash of materials that could have produced 20 more tubes of TATP.
And his internet browsing history showed more than 170 sites and videos on making explosives.


Hong Kong boy, 17, who took explosives to police station sentenced to six years in prison

Leung Kwok-hung, who attempted to set off a bomb in Aberdeen police station. Photo: Edward Wong

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Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Resentment at officers over treatment during burglary arrest fueled anger
