Fate of 7 in alleged Hong Kong ‘Dragon Slaying’ bomb plot to kill police in hands of jury
First group charged under UN anti-terrorism law could face life imprisonment if found guilty after four-month trial over alleged plot to kill police in 2019
Hong Kong’s High Court is set to hand down its verdict on seven defendants charged under a UN anti-terrorism law – the first such case in the city’s history – with six of them facing life imprisonment over their roles in a thwarted bomb plot to kill police during the social unrest of 2019.
The jury retired on Tuesday for deliberations, four months after the trial of the defendants, including members of the “Dragon Slaying Brigade”, began in April.
Brigade leader Wong Chun-keung is accused of entering into a conspiracy with another team of four, led by Ng Chi-hung, to plant two bombs on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai on December 8, 2019.
The court in February heard guilty pleas from another seven people, including Ng, two members of his team – sniper David Su and Eddie Pang Kwan-ho – and Wong.
In her instructions to the nine-member jury, presiding judge Mrs Justice Judianna Wai-ling Barnes asked them to decide whether the defendants had “agreed” to carry out some activities in preparation of the attack, or had discussed firearms and explosives that they were aware would eventually be used in the plot.
One of the main points of contention between the prosecution and defence was when exactly the conspiracy had been initiated.
