Family held over city-wide bomb hoax

A family of three has been arrested for claiming bombs had been planted throughout the territory in a letter sent to the police headquarters in April.

The police took action yesterday afternoon, arresting a couple and their son at their home in Cheung Sha Wan. The family was alleged to have conspired to send the bomb threats.

"On April 23, the police headquarters received an anonymous letter that its content shows the writer is hostile to the police," organized crime and triad bureau superintendent Chan Kong-ming said.

"It also claims that there were many bombs placed across Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, with the intent to cause casualties," Chan said.

After investigations and a review of CCTV footage, police moved on the trio, aged 16 to 50, consisting of secondary five student, Wong, and his parents, Wong and Liu, who work as a chef and hawker.

During the raid, officers seized medical gloves, brochures related to the national security law and notebooks - but no explosive substances were detected.

The police will look into whether the three of them had any connection to similar bomb threat cases over the past year or whether they targeted the police as part of a prank, Chan said.

He said that sending threatening letters could lead to a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.

The arrests came after a spate of incidents.

A package containing a white powder was sent to the police headquarters' recruitment office on April 7. No dangerous ingredients were found in an examination by the explosive ordnance disposal bureau.

On April 20, another parcel containing a small explosive device was sent to police commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung.

Bomb-disposal experts subsequently neutralized the device, which contained wires, batteries and a flammable liquid.