Man arrested over bomb hoax threat targeting Hong Kong’s Admiralty MTR station

Hong Kong police have arrested a man for allegedly making a bomb hoax threat targeting Admiralty MTR station on an online war game forum. Inspector Luke Hung Sze-tat of the Central police district said on Saturday that officers had arrested a 31-year-old local man in his Sha Tin home on Friday evening and seized three imitation guns from the flat. “Although the crime only involved one person, his threat to place a bomb in one of the busiest and densest MTR stations in Hong Kong prompted us to place much value on the case and to conduct the arrest swiftly,” Hung said. The force received a report last Tuesday from two residents who alerted police that an online game player had threatened to bomb Admiralty MTR station on the first day of Lunar New Year on February 17. Hung said officers from the uniformed patrol sub-unit, the emergency unit and counter terrorism response unit searched the station last Tuesday, but did not find any suspicious items. Officers from the crime squad of Central police district later identified the man who posted the threat in the online wargaming chat channel by analysing online intelligence. They arrested the man at his Sha Tin residence on Friday on suspicion of making a bomb hoax and possessing imitation firearms. The unemployed 31-year-old man was also found to possess two imitation rifles, one imitation pistol, a variety of imitation gun parts such as bullet cases, plastic bullets and gas canisters, as well as tactical helmets, vests and belts used for war games. No materials that could be used to create a bomb were found in the man’s flat, where he lived with his family. The suspected imitation firearms have been sent to the force’s forensic firearms examination division for further tests to see if they comply with city laws. “The force believes that this person acted alone and had no other accomplices. He is also a war game and military gear fanatic,” Hung said. Chief Inspector Nicole Hui Nok of the Central police district said the man’s motivation for posting such a message on an online forum remained under investigation. “I would like to remind residents that the internet is not a lawless place,” Hui said. Under Hong Kong law, the maximum punishment for making a bomb hoax is five years’ imprisonment. Anyone found possessing imitation firearms could be subject to a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. The man remains under police custody as of Saturday afternoon.