Acquitted bomb plot suspect among 5 arrested in Hong Kong over rioting, sedition

Hong Kong police have arrested five people for rioting and sedition offences linked to the 2019 anti-government protests, with the Post learning that one of the group was a recently acquitted defendant in a high-profile bomb plot case.

Superintendent Simon Cheung Pak-kit of the force’s National Security Department said on Wednesday that officers arrested two men and three women in Kowloon Bay and the New Territories the day before.

Officers also seized HK$250,000 (US$32,200) suspected to be linked to the case, he said.

“We emphasise that this case is independent from other old cases, and that it is established from new evidence,” Cheung said.

A source told the Post that one of the suspects was 32-year-old Ng Tsz-lok, who was acquitted last month of conspiracy to bomb prescribed objects.

The 163-day trial focused on plots to trigger explosions at three public locations in an attempt to coerce the government into closing all city borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.