Arrested coach teaches martial arts in hope of armed revolution against govt: police

A coach arrested by national security police allegedly taught people martial arts as preparation to form an armed force code-named “Darth Vader” for overthrowing the Hong Kong government.  

National security police officers arrested a 59-year-old martial arts coach and his 62-year-old assistant for sedition in Tsim Sha Tsui Sunday afternoon. They were also suspected of possession of offensive weapons and possession of firearms without a license.  

In a press conference on Tuesday, senior superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah of the police’s national security department said the two were members of a pro-independence group whose aim was to establish an armed force, “Darth Vader army.”   

While they were arrested for acting with a seditious intention, what they did went far beyond sedition and were, in fact, putting a plan into action, according to police. The two could be prosecuted for offenses under the national security law.  

Li said the suspects posted online to incite the use of force against the regime in 2020 and invited netizens to practice martial arts to prepare for future revolutions and resistance.   

The posters showed images of people in combat, as well as fire and swords. The posters encouraged citizens to learn martial arts to kill the evil ones and for self-defense so that they can “save themselves as well as others.” The posters have since been deleted.   

Li also said the martial arts center carried out rituals to incite hatred against the government, such as by mourning the suspect who stabbed the police in Causeway Bay on July 1, 2021. The two arrested were radicalized by “fake news” themselves, he said.   

Undercover agents of the department found the duo coaching martial arts at dusk on Sunday and arrested them on the spot.  

Officers also issued fixed fine notices to four people – three men and a woman – in the flat who are participating in combat training for violating the social gathering ban in Cap 599G Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Gathering) Regulation.  

Police also searched places of the two, where they found a total of HK$380,000 worth of foreign currency and a large number of weapons, including an air gun, two axes, three swords, and six machetes - all were edged.  

Officers also seized eight crossbows and 30 steel-headed arrows. After conducting a pull test, the power of the crossbows was found to have far exceeded the legal limit.  

Officers also took away electronic communication equipment used to spread the information and four long swords from the apartment.  

Li said the police will investigate whether those who signed up for martial arts training were involved in other crimes.