Hong Kong in January recorded four homemade bomb attacks and 15 bomb hoaxes — an average of one case every other day.
The method and frequency of these cases came close to terrorism, said Steve Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force.
Whatever demands they made were false propositions, and their actions were a threat to public safety, said Steve Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force
In a news briefing on Wednesday, Li said the situation is worrying. The many fake bombs found in public areas have the effect of lowering people’s vigilance. More people could get hurt if a real bomb were to be detonated, he warned.
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The modus operandi for the recent bomb-related cases is similar to terrorism attacks, characterized by making advance demands online that call for strikes or a full closure of the border, followed by someone claiming responsibility online after it happened, Li said.
The police are following up on these cases seriously, he said. Whatever demands they made were false propositions, and their actions were a threat to public safety, he added.
Li’s remarks came after a suspicious object made to resemble a bomb was discovered close to railway tracks at the MTR’s Tai Po Market station on Wednesday morning. The station was closed and regular services on the East Rail Line were disrupted for over an hour. No one has been arrested in the incident.
At a press briefing at the station, Acting Assistant District Commander (Crime) Kwok Yat-leung of Tai Po district said police removed a shoebox that had been made to look as if it could contain a bomb.
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.
The case is regarded as bomb hoax and under investigation by the serious-crime unit, Kwok said. The offender faces up to five years’ imprisonment.
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Police strongly condemned the act, which they said posed a threat to the safety of thousands of passengers who use that line.
Police are looking into possible connections 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 linking Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
As the novel coronavirus outbreak rages, some people have been threatening online to place bombs at major transportation facilities as a protest against the government’s refusal to shut down all checkpoints on the border with the mainland.
Also on Wednesday, police said they have arrested six suspects, five men and one woman, on suspicion of hurling gasoline bombs at the Kwai Chung Division Police Station on Jan 29 and setting fires in Mong Kok on Tuesday.
