A 20-year-old man accused of a bomb hoax was acquitted on Thursday after a magistrate ruled he had no intention of causing public panic when he placed a replica grenade on a ticket machine at Leung King Light Rail Station last May.
Wilson Thompson, a registered employee of Jumping Gym, was initially charged with the bomb hoax after a toy grenade was found at the Tuen Mun station on May 17, 2025.
The incident led to a police cordon and the deployment of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, who confirmed the item was a replica.
Thompson was arrested shortly after, and under caution, he explained that he and a colleague had won the fake grenade at a claw machine shop.
As no one wanted it, he "just casually put it on the ticket machine," stating he "didn't expect it to scare anyone."
During today's proceedings at Tuen Mun Magistrates' Court, Magistrate Edward Poon Ting-bond concluded that the defendant had no malicious intent.
Poon noted that security camera footage showed Thompson's colleague throwing the toy grenade to him at the station just before the incident, and Thompson had attempted to return it.
The prosecution argued that Thompson should have disposed of the item in one of the nearby trash cans.
However, Magistrate Poon deemed it reasonable for Thompson not to have noticed these bins, which were located approximately 10 to 15 meters behind and to the left of a convenience store.
Poon ultimately ruled that the possibility of Thompson not intending to cause panic or play a prank could not be ruled out.
Considering that Thompson was only 19 years old at the time, had no prior criminal record, and demonstrated a low probability of criminal intent, the judge granted him the benefit of the doubt and found him not guilty.
Thompson testified that he had disposed of the item casually "without thinking he would scare anyone."
