Court hears of bomb details

A phone call could have triggered a bomb with a destructive radius of 400 meters during a protest in 2019, the High Court heard yesterday as the trial of the city's first case under the anti-terrorism laws involving seven suspects began.

The six men and one woman stand accused of planning to set off bombs and use firearms to target police during the Human Rights Day march on December 8, 2019.

Fiat counsel Juliana Chow Hoi-ling said the prosecution may discuss with the defense whether to reduce the number of witnesses from the current 133.

Three of the defendants who pleaded guilty in February - Wong Chun-keung, David Su, and Eddie Pang Kwan-ho - will testify. The seven accused denied the charges before High Court Judge Judianna Barnes Wai-ling on Monday.

The six males - Cheung Chun-fu, 24, Cheung Ming-yu, 21, Yim Man-him, 22, Christian Lee Ka-tin, 25, Lai Chun-pong, 30, and Justin Hui Cham-wing, 25 - have all pleaded not guilty.

They have also denied an alternative charge of conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life or cause significant property damage, and murder police.

Lee also faces a charge of possessing arms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The sole female defendant, Lau Pui-ying, 24, has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiring to provide or collect property for committing terrorist acts between August 1, 2019, and December 9, 2019.

Chow said in the opening statement that the case involved an eight-kilogram bomb and a two-kilogram bomb, with the larger one found to contain nails and had a blast radius of 400m. The prosecution said the explosion could have led to severe loss of life and property damage if it had detonated in a crowded place with nearby residences affected.

"It was a march that had received no objection [from police], and participants of the march might have also been injured [by the bomb]," she told the jury of three men and six women, adding the damage could have been "indiscriminate" and "nonpolitical."

The prosecution also showed photos of the bombs obtained from a Telegram group chat consisting of the defendants.

It said once the wireless phones had an incoming call, the iron plate inside the bomb would heat up causing it to detonate. "With only one phone call, the bombs will explode," Chow added.

She cited Telegram chat records, saying the defendants conspired to injure police, and once officers were attacked, they would "pick up their gun."

Chow said the case involved the radical opposition group known as the "Dragon Slaying Brigade," which was established in August 2019.

The trial continues today.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com