Three Hongkongers found guilty of conspiring to carry out bomb attacks during the 2019 anti-government protests harboured hostility towards local authorities and displayed little remorse for the crime, a court has heard.
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One of the defendants was deemed to pose a substantial risk to society as he showed little insight into his problems, while still taking pride in the assistance he gave to young protesters during the social unrest.
The High Court on Friday heard some of the key findings of the trio’s psychological assessments following their convictions last month.
The case centred on plots to trigger explosions at three public locations – Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po, a train carriage at Lo Wu station, and during a memorial service in Tseung Kwan O – in an attempt to coerce the government into closing all city borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A nine-member jury convicted fishing-gear seller Lukas Ho Cheuk-wai, 41, decoration worker Lee Ka-pan, 30, and programmer Cheung Ka-chun, 35, of conspiracy to cause an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property by a majority vote of 8-1.
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But the three accused, along with security guard Ng Tsz-lok, 32, clerk Yeung Yi-sze, 34, government contract worker Cheung Cheuk-ki, 30, and university student Rebecca Ho Pui-yan, 26, were unanimously acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiracy to commit bombing of prescribed objects between November 2019 and March 2020.