Martial-arts pair 'trained underground armed force for revolution'

A 59-year-old martial arts coach and his 61-year-old female assistant were denied bail in their first court appearance yesterday charged with five counts of sedition after they allegedly taught martial arts aimed to set up an armed force to overthrow the government.

No plea was taken as principal magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court - a designated judge to hear national security cases - adjourned the hearing until May 19 pending police investigation.

Coach Denis Wong Tak-keung was charged with one count of sedition for promoting and operating martial arts classes to incite hatred against the central and SAR governments, violence and disobeying the law.

Wong was also charged with one count of possession of offensive weapons and another of possession of firearms without a license after police officers found three swords, three machetes, an axe and two crossbows in his Tai Wai home.

His unemployed assistant, Iry Cheung Man-chee, was charged with one count of possession of offensive weapons and another count of possession of firearms without a license after officers found three machetes, an axe and five crossbows in her Ma On Shan home. The prosecution told Law yesterday police needed more time to examine the duo's mobile phones and crossbows found in their homes.

Law denied bail to Wong and Cheung, and ordered them to be remanded in custody until their next court appearance.

Law said the case is related to national security, and he considered the bail application according to the criterion set out in the national security law. At a press briefing yesterday, national security police alleged the two were members of a pro-independence group whose aim was to establish an underground armed force - called "Darth Vader Army" - to overthrow the government.

Senior superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah of the police national security department said the duo posted online to incite the use of force against the regime from 2020 and invited netizens to practice martial arts to prepare for future revolutions against the government.

The martial arts classes could have been used to recruit like-minded people and police are investigating whether students were radicalized or had taken part in illegal activities, said Li.

"The aim of the class is very subversive, saying, for example, to get yourself prepared and target the Chinese Communist Party when the time comes," he added.

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

He said officers will investigate whether those who signed up for martial arts training were involved in other crimes.

Wong and Cheung were arrested on Sunday in a training unit in Tsim Sha Tsui after undercover agents of the department found the two coaching martial arts.

Officers also issued fixed fine notices to three men and a woman in the flat who are taking part in combat training for violating the social gathering ban.

Police searched the homes of the two, where they found a total of HK$380,000 worth of foreign currencies, including US dollars, and a large number of weapons, including an air gun, axes, swords and machetes - all with sharp edges.

Eight crossbows and 30 steel-headed arrows were also seized from their homes, as officers found that the strength of the crossbows had far exceeded the legal limit.

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

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com