HONG KONG - Hong Kong Police on Wednesday removed a suspicious object made to resemble a bomb close to railway tracks at the MTR Tai Po Market station on Wednesday morning. Regular service on the East Rail Line was disrupted for over an hour in the morning.
No one has been arrested. At a press briefing held at the station, Acting Assistant District Commander (Crime) Kwok Yat-leung of Tai Po District said a shoe box made to look like it could contain a bomb was found around 8:30 am.
Police believed the object was made to resemble a bomb to create panic in ordinary people who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at first glance, said Acting Assistant District Commander (Crime) Kwok Yat-leung of Tai Po District
The station was closed as officers of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau arrived at the scene around 9:30 am. They confirmed that it was a hoax.
Police believed the object was made to resemble a bomb to create panic in ordinary people who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at first glance, Kwok said.
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The case is under investigation by the serious crime unit and the offender is liable to be imprisoned up to five years, he said.
Police strongly condemned the act which they said posed a threat to the safety of thousands of passengers using that line.
Police are looking into possible connection of this particular case with similar cases involving explosive objects found in Hong Kong’s transportation system.
Last week, several homemade bombs were found at various locations, including at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint and on a train heading to the Lo Wu checkpoint.
READ MORE: Explosives found at HK station near Shenzhen amid epidemic
As the novel coronavirus outbreak rages, some people have been threatening online to place bombs at major transport facilities as a protest against the government’s refusal to shut down all checkpoints at the border with the mainland.
