Hong Kong Sentences Trio Over 2019–20 Bomb Plots

A Hong Kong court on Monday sentenced Lukas Ho to 18 years and Lee Ka‑pan and Cheung Ka‑chun to 16 years and eight months each for conspiring to carry out three bomb attacks in 2019–2020. The plots included a homemade bomb that exploded in a Caritas Medical Centre toilet, an explosive device placed on a train to Lo Wu, and a planned device near a car park ahead of a memorial; there were no casualties. Prosecutors said the attacks aimed to force the government to close borders early in the COVID‑19 pandemic, and a Telegram group calling itself "92 Sign" claimed responsibility. Evidence showed the defendants used rented flats to produce explosives and were involved in constructing devices and remote‑detonation programs; they were convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life or property. Judge Johnny Chan called Ho the mastermind with an "inflated ego", said deterrence outweighed rehabilitation, and granted small reductions to the two first‑time offenders. The men were arrested in March 2020 and tried under the United Nations Anti‑Terrorism Ordinance in a lengthy jury trial in which five other defendants were acquitted.