Bail rejected for tutor facing pipe-bomb charges

Angel Kwan

The High Court has refused bail for a man who allegedly possessed a pipe bomb a day after his application to a magistrates' court was rejected.

Wong Kai-hin, 21, who claimed to be a full-time tutor, faces two counts of possession of explosive substances.

He was arrested last month after police allegedly found a pipe bomb and match heads in a subdivided flat in Mong Kok.

His bail application was rejected by acting principal magistrate So Man-lung in Fan Ling courts on Wednesday, forcing Wong to apply again to the High Court yesterday.

His lawyer said Wong is willing to comply with any strict bail conditions, and meet bail even if it was set at HK$100,000, double what he proposed at the magistracy level.

But Justice Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios rejected his application, citing the seriousness of the case and the possibility of the suspect facing immediate and long-term imprisonment.

He will be brought to court on April 6.

But prosecutors said they may apply for the hearing to be postponed as they need more time to collect evidence, which might be affected by the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus epidemic. Wong's lawyer said in court that police officers burst through the glass door of the unit and searched the subdivided room without showing a search warrant.

Wong was outside the room during the process and was not able to monitor the search.

Police officers did not provide a search warrant until 30 to 40 minutes had passed.

Wong and two other suspects were arrested as they were leaving Lee Man Building on Tung Choi Street on January 14 at night.

Officers brought them back to the flat and found "protest-related materials" and the pipe bomb.

Officers with the police's explosive ordnance disposal unit later arrived and evacuated residents nearby.

Senior Superintendent Chan Tin-chu said during a media briefing conducted that day that they found about 40 grams of explosives inside the bomb.

The explosives were stuffed inside an eight-inch water pipe.

Chan said the pipe bomb was powerful and a small explosion occurred when it was being defused.

He added that the bomb was ready for use and powerful enough to kill if it had been thrown into a car.