Leader of 2019 radical protest group was alone in insistence on killing police, court hears at terrorism trial
Hong Kong Free Press
The leader of Hong Kong radical protest group “Dragon Slayers” – allegedly behind a thwarted bomb plot during the 2019 demonstrations – was the only one in his team that was insisting on killing police officers, a court has heard.
Prosecution witness Wong Chun-keung continued to testify against his former team members at the High Court, where seven people are standing a jury trial under the city’s anti-terrorism act.
Prosecutors accuse the group of planning to carry out a bomb attack to murder police officers during a legal rally in Wan Chai on December 8, 2019, when the city was at the height of months-long pro-democracy protests and unrest.
Wong, the leader of the group that formed in August that year with about 10 “elite” radical protesters, admitted on Tuesday that his team once had a consensus not to kill police officers nor to use firearms or explosives, according to local media The Witness.
Thomas Iu, a defence barrister for defendant Cheung Ming-yu, said his client’s reluctance to kill police could be traced back to August 2019, when he texted Ng Chi-hung, another leader of the bomb plot, saying: “If we are to consider [killing police], I am afraid I may not be the candidate.”
Iu said the consensus was upheld at a late-November meeting among the “Dragon Slayers” group, to which Wong agreed.
Iu pointed to a text messaging conversation in early December 2019 between Wong and a person named Kristy, who was said to be a leader of another radical protest group. In that exchange, Kristy raised concerns over the practicality of killing police, whereas Wong responded: “It seems that I’m the only one persisting.”
“In other words, Kristy didn’t want [to kill police], neither did your teammates, and you were the only one insisting to murder police officers?” the lawyer asked on Tuesday, to which Wong said yes.
Wong added that he “didn’t care” about potentially hurting innocent people when Cheung Chun-fu, another defendant, raised objections to Wong’s plan to place bombs in Mongkok on December 1, 2019, a week ahead of the alleged bomb plot.
Cheung Chun-fu and Cheung Ming-yu, along with four other men, have pleaded not guilty to a charge of “conspiring to commit bombing of prescribed objects” under the anti-terrorism law. They face life behind bars if convicted by a jury.
Wong and Ng earlier pleaded guilty to the same charge.
A seventh defendant, Lau Pui-ying stands accused of conspiring to provide or collect property to commit terrorist acts. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail.
Misleading teammates
Iu on Wednesday said Wong did not inform his teammates about the locations of the bombs, nor did he say anything about him acquiring a gun from Ng. The court previously heard that Ng was responsible for importing firearms and explosives for the alleged plot.
The lawyer accused Wong of misleading his teammates and putting them in danger, which Wong denied, saying he was not aware of the locations of the bombs on the morning of the thwarted scheme.
He said he would have instructed members of “Dragon Slayers” to enact the plot after he finalised details with Ng that day. He added that he did not understand the power of the bombs.
The witness added that his team was aware of the plot involving explosives and that they had agreed to lure police officers into the vicinity of the bombs along Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.
The trial continues on Thursday.
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