Hong Kong's 'Mother of Satan' Bomb Plot: How Police Stopped a Terror Campaign

Sentencing is due tomorrow for three masterminds behind a 2020 domestic terror plot that targeted a hospital and a border checkpoint. After a 159-day trial, a jury found Ho Cheuk-wai, Lee Ka-pan, and Cheung Ka-chun guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions. Court evidence revealed a chilling escalation of violence, including plans for a 20kg bomb in a residential area and the use of high-performance TATP explosives, a plot that was only stopped by timely police intervention.
 
This case was prosecuted under the Counter-Terrorism Ordinance, as it predated the Hong Kong National Security Law, and carries a sentence of up to 20 years. But the charges barely capture the reality: this was a coordinated attempt to carry out indiscriminate attacks on the public. Had police not uncovered their plan to detonate a massive homemade bomb in Tseung Kwan O, a massacre would have been unavoidable.
 
An Attack on a Hospital
The terror campaign began on January 27, 2020. At 2:20 AM, an improvised explosive device, packed with "Rocket Candy," blew up in a men's toilet at Caritas Medical Centre's A&E. A police officer, there by chance, helped manage the evacuation. The blast was powerful enough to shatter pipes. A Telegram channel, "Kau Chim 92," later claimed responsibility, stating the attack was meant to force a strike by medical staff.

The wreckage: What a 'Rocket Candy' bomb did to a toilet stall in Caritas Medical Centre's A&E.

Explosives expert Superintendent Lo Ping-sin told the court what his team found in the wreckage: a shattered glass bottle containing up to a kilogram of a nitrate-based explosive. Wired to a circuit board and wrapped in black tape, it was a classic improvised explosive device (IED) designed to produce intense flames and smoke that water couldn't extinguish—powerful enough to kill, maim, or cause massive damage.
 
Another expert, Acting Senior Superintendent Li Chin-chiu, confirmed the device was a "Rocket Candy" bomb. He testified that the dense, high-temperature smoke it produced could have caused lung burns and blocked escape routes, a deadly scenario in a hospital filled with immobile patients on wheelchairs.
 
"Baked Alive" on a Train
The second attack came on February 2. A cleaner on an MTR train pulling into Lo Wu Station found a bag containing a suspicious object with a flashing red light. She immediately moved it to the platform just as it began spewing thick smoke, averting disaster. The same Telegram group claimed responsibility, demanding the government close the border.

Averted disaster: This bag held a bomb designed to fill a train with deadly smoke. A cleaner's quick action at Lo Wu MTR station prevented mass casualties.

Superintendent Lo confirmed two IEDs were recovered from the scene at Lo Wu. One contained about a kilogram of low-grade explosives. Both were built with the same radio-controlled design using potassium nitrate and sugar, and both were fully capable of causing death or serious injury.

A Meticulously Planned Massacre
Acting Senior Superintendent Li painted an even grimmer picture. He testified that if the cleaner hadn't found the bomb, the casualties would have been catastrophic. Had it gone off in the enclosed carriage, passengers would have been blinded by smoke and potentially "baked alive" by the heat. Li believed the bomb was "meticulously designed" not for Lo Wu, but to detonate 40 minutes later, when the train returned to a crowded urban area, leaving passengers with "nowhere to run."
 
The third plot was the most ambitious: a 20kg "tombstone-shaped bomb" to be detonated outside Sheung Tak Estate car park in Tseung Kwan O. The target date was March 8, during a memorial event for HKUST student Chow Tsz-lok. Police uncovered the plot just in time, arresting the suspects on March 7 after monitoring their Telegram group where they discussed the plan.

The target: Terrorists planned to detonate a 20kg 'tombstone bomb' here, at a memorial event in Tseung Kwan O, on March 8, 2020. (Image source: Sing Tao Daily)

According to Li Chin-chiu's court testimony, a 20kg "glitter powder" bomb would have had astonishing power. Its kill radius would have been dozens of meters, with the shockwave and sound felt from 300 meters away.
 
The Urban Bomb Factory
Beyond the attacks, the case exposed the group's arsenal. The first two defendants, Ho Cheuk-wai and Lee Ka-pan, rented two units in INNO CENTRE, Tai Kok Tsui. Police discovered what one expert called an "explosives warehouse," a ticking time bomb that endangered the entire building and surrounding community.

An urban bomb factory: Police display some of the massive cache of explosives and raw materials seized from two units in Tai Kok Tsui. (Image source: Sing Tao Daily)

The court heard that in March 2020, police raids on the units turned up a terrifying inventory. Room 503 contained TATP explosives, 35.2kg of raw materials like potassium nitrate and aluminum powder, protective gear, and remote-detonation circuit boards. Room 1008 held over a ton of potassium nitrate (1090.75kg) and 57.5kg of an ammonium nitrate/aluminum powder mixture.
 
Li Chin-chiu testified that the mix of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder could produce about 70kg of AN/AL explosive, a favorite of terrorist organizations worldwide. The units also contained over 100kg of aluminum powder and 92kg of magnesium powder to boost destructive power. As for the TATP found, it's an infamous high-performance explosive, once dubbed "the mother of Satan" for its immense power.
 
The Terrorist's Playbook
Another expert, Superintendent Cheung Lap-tak, testified that the seized electronic matches, batteries, circuits, and fuses were the four key elements for any IED: power, initiator, switch, and explosive. He confirmed the devices were lethal, with the "Rocket Candy" bomb capable of causing serious damage within a 2-meter radius, and that a fire in Room 1008 would have been catastrophic due to the other chemicals stored there.
 
During the investigation, police found an image on a defendant's phone of a bomb designed to be packed with iron nails. Li Chin-chiu stated in court that adding shrapnel like nails or screws is a classic terrorist tactic designed to maximize indiscriminate carnage by causing direct piercing injuries to anyone nearby.
 
This case lays bare the real and evolving threat of domestic terrorism to Hong Kong's public safety. The bomb-making technology used by these extremist groups advanced rapidly, and their attack plans grew ever more ambitious. If not for the diligent work of the police, an indiscriminate attack on citizens would have led to unimaginable consequences.

Ariel

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Zhang Xinyan was a member of the 'Hong Kong Parliament' wanted by the Hong Kong police. She was first detained by Thai police.

But on August 3, she was allowed to fly. She left Bangkok for Vancouver, Canada.

Zhang Xinyan, a wanted member of the 'Hong Kong Parliament'.

The Globe and Mail reports Zhang is a Falun Gong practitioner. In China, Falun Gong is banned. It is listed as an illegal organization.

Zhang had been living in Thailand since 2014. In May, Thai police discovered she had overstayed her visa. They detained her in Bangkok.

Zhang was originally scheduled to fly to Vancouver. But at the last moment before boarding, Thai police discovered her and detained her.

The 'Hong Kong Parliament' is an illegal outfit based in Toronto. It recruits worldwide. Zhang, living in Thailand, signed up. She became one of 15 members.

Then the Hong Kong Police National Security Department put a price on their heads. A HK$200,000 bounty was offered for several members, Zhang included. The charge: subverting state power, a crime under the Hong Kong National Security Law.

Reactions: Canada as a 'Gathering Place for Scum'

Zhang was reportedly applying to immigrate to Canada when she was detained.

Canada later confirmed it would take her, the thinking goes. So Thailand sent her on her way.

Canadians are split on taking in these political refugees. Some Hong Kong immigrants in Canada say the more political dissidents Canada accepts, the more it stirs up local resentment toward ethnic minorities.

Some netizens commented: Sending scum to Canada is actually quite good, making Canada a scum haven!