4 teenagers arrested on explosives charges after police find stash of chemicals, weapons at Hong Kong school
Hong Kong Free Press
Four Hong Kong teenagers have been arrested on explosives charges after police found a stash of chemicals that can be used to make bombs and weapons at a school in Kwun Tong.
In a press conference on Wednesday, police said the four were form one and two secondary school students aged 13 to 15. One was suspected to have a triad background.
Police received a report on Tuesday of two people lighting fires on a slope at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education’s Kwun Tong campus.
By the time police arrived, they were no longer there, but officers found a 5,000-square-foot enclosed space with suspected explosives and weapons. Among the items discovered were 90 bottles and bags of chemical substances, as well as beakers, alcohol burners, lighters and gas masks. Photos displayed at the press conference showed burn marks on the ground.
Police also discovered two axes, a Swiss army knife, and a taser.
The four teenagers were arrested on charges including possession of explosives, conspiracy to manufacture explosives and possessing arms without a license. They were being held for investigation.
Senior superintendent Eileen Chung Lai-yee of the Kowloon East crime unit said some of the arrestees had admitted to police that they had bought chemicals online and experimented with them.
“We are also extremely concerned whether political motivation is involved in the incident and whether the four were manipulated by others, as well as if they have [accomplices] on the run,” she said.
She added that there was no evidence the four had any involvement in politics.
Following their arrests, police searched their residences and seized explosives from one of their homes. Photos showing how to make explosives, as well as relevant searches in their search history, were also found on the phone of that arrestee.
Police also discovered a bag containing explosives, chemicals, a weighing scale, goggles and gloves that one of the arrestees had tossed onto a slope at a public housing estate in Kwun Tong.
The Vocational Training Council, which runs the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, said in a statement to HKFP on Wednesday that it had notified police after finding the chemicals on campus. The school will cooperate with the police’s investigation, it said.
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