Three linked to school firebomb held

Two students and a graduate of a Tsing Yi secondary school have been arrested after acts of vandalism and arson in May and last month.

The three, aged between 16 and 23, are said to have tried to force Lok Sin Tong Leung Chik Wai Memorial School on Ching Hong Road to suspend classes or prompt students to boycott classes in support of protesters.

At 1am on July 24, two men placed an LPG cylinder used for cassette cookers and four glass bottles containing naphtha at the school entrance, before throwing kindling and a lit bottle at the objects to ignite them, superintendent Lam Chi-yuen of Kwai Tsing police district said yesterday.

"This led to a series of explosions at the school entrance," he said. "The two wanted to produce something similar to petrol bombs or even as extreme as explosive devices."

A security guard at the school made a report to police after he heard loud bangs and saw a planter at the entrance being firebombed, followed by fire ravaging a billboard and the concrete canopy of the first floor.

The guard also saw two black-clad men fleeing the scene through Tsing Yi Road West, police added.

Shortly afterward, firemen arrived to douse the blaze and found burn marks on the planter at the entrance, the entrance wall and the billboard and the glass of the entrance door.

No one was injured and the case was classified as arson.

Lam said at the time of the arson, the school's entrance door was still under repair after it was damaged due to previous vandalism on May 25.

"Further investigation is under way and we are not ruling out more arrests," he said. "Hong Kong is based on the rule of law, and any demands made by individuals must fall within the framework of the law."

A 16-year-old student at the school was arrested yesterday at his home in Cheung Wang Estate in Tsing Yi for suspected vandalism, arson and possession of offensive weapons.

Police said they also seized two extendable batons while searching his home.

On Monday, an 18-year-old student was arrested at his home in Cheung Hong Estate in the same district on suspicion of arson and the 23-year-old alumni was arrested on July 24 in Kwai Chung on the same grounds.

The two teenagers were still being detained at a police station as of last night, while the 23-year-old was released on bail and ordered to report to police later this month.

erin.chan@singtaonewscorp.com