London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Hong Kong police foil second bomb plot in under a week and arrest three men allegedly testing explosive devices and chemicals

Remote-controlled devices were intended for use at mass protests but it was unclear which chemicals or explosives were involved, police said. Officers also seized radio-controlled detonation device and protective gear after ambushing three suspects in Tuen Mun

Hong Kong police on Saturday said they had foiled a second bomb plot in under a week related to the ongoing anti-government protests after officers arrested three men allegedly testing home-made devices and chemicals in a secluded area.

The suspects were testing the strength of remote-controlled devices, which were intended for use at mass protests, police said, but it was unclear which chemicals or explosives were involved as the bombs had been detonated.

Acting on intelligence, officers from the organised crime and triad bureau ambushed the trio in scrubland off Siu Lang Shui Road in Tuen Mun in the early hours as they carried out tests.

The operation came as police said three men and two women, aged 15 to 18, had been arrested in suspected connection with the death of a 70-year-old man who was hit by a brick during a fight between masked protesters and Sheung Shui residents last month.

According to a source, police were seeking legal advice on whether the “joint enterprise” principle, which allows for accomplices of the person who strikes the fatal blow in a murder to be convicted of the same crime, could apply. CCTV and online clips did not show the five throwing bricks directly at the man, but some did throw bricks and wound others, the source said.

In the Tuen Mun operation, officers also seized a radio-controlled detonation device and protective gear, including shields, bulletproof vests, a steel plate and gas masks at the scene. The tools were believed to have been used during the tests.

“The amount [of explosives] was not a lot. But intelligence showed there were two purposes behind the plot – one was to upgrade the power of the bombs, and the other to launch attacks at future assemblies or rallies,” Senior Superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah said.

The suspects were also testing chemicals and officers would collect soil samples, he added.

“This worries us a lot … because many hikers also passed by today. It posed a great risk to the public,” Li said.

According to Superintendent Suryanto Chin-chiu from the bomb squad, officers found a transmitter and a receiver at the scene and believed the devices were used to detonate the bombs at short-range using a low frequency.

Earlier in the week, police defused two powerful home-made bombs in Wan Chai. Suryanto said the detonation method in both instances was the same, but the electrical parts inside the devices were a bit different.

“As the suspects [arrested on Saturday] were just testing the chemicals, we found a small area, 4 inches by 5 inches, that was burnt,” Suryanto said.

He said a tiny amount of chemicals and explosives were discovered on the trio, and that the devices were not easily found in the market.

“We believe they were testing whether the explosives were functional.”

The trio were arrested for causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property and detained for investigation.

Li said they had an active role in the plot, including building the bombs. But he refused to disclose if the suspects had previously taken part in anti-government protests, or if they had professional knowledge about bomb making.

“They had prepared protective gear during the testing, meaning they didn’t even know the power of the bombs,” Li said.

A senior police source said one of those arrested was a 27-year-old laboratory technician from SKH St Simon’s Lui Ming Choi Secondary School in Tuen Mun while another man, 40, worked as an electrician. The third was unemployed.



“Our investigation suggests the latest bomb plot is not linked to [the earlier] bust,” he said.

Officers in the evening escorted one suspect to the school as part of their investigations.

Separately, police said on Saturday they found 34 petrol bombs, 20 smoke bombs, 12 corrosive bombs and a number of easily flammable items after receiving a call from City University staff about suspected dangerous items on the Kowloon campus.

The university also discovered dangerous chemicals on campus last Friday, which were disposed of by police’s explosive ordnance disposal bureau.

On Monday, police seized two powerful home-made bombs, packed with 5kg (11lb) each of high-grade explosives along with shrapnel in the form of nails, at Wah Yan College Hong Kong in Wan Chai.

Detectives believed they were intended for an attack the previous day on police at a massive anti-government march, which around 800,000 protesters attended.

It was understood the remote-controlled devices – which officers said had a potential blast radius of up to 100 metres – would not have gone off where they were found, because two mobile phones connected to them, for use as detonators, were turned off.

The apparent bomb plot, which emerged after six months of social unrest and political turmoil, prompted the city’s biggest police association to warn that the security situation in Hong Kong was at its “most alarming” in decades, even worse than during a wave of armed robberies in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, dozens of people joined a rally on Saturday night calling on Britain’s newly elected parliament to consider terminating the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the agreement that paved the way for the city’s handover in 1997, because Beijing “had violated declaration promises including ‘one country, two systems’”, but the crowd was smaller than at a similar rally held on Wednesday.

Activists said the rally, held outside the British consulate and organised by the Hong Kong Independence Party, was held because at least two Conservative Party MPs who supported their cause were successfully elected in Thursday’s general election.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×