Hong Kong court denies bail to university student charged under anti-terrorism ordinance

A Hong Kong university student who was among eight people charged over conspiring to place explosives near two Hong Kong border crossings and a hospital in 2020 has been denied bail.

Ho Pui-yan, a student at Hong Kong Baptist University, appeared before Judge Susana Maria D’Almada Remedios at the High Court on Monday. Ho has been charged with violating the prohibitions against bombing under a United Nations anti-terrorism ordinance, and has been in custody since first appearing in court last February.

A previous bail application was denied last May. Ho’s second bid for bail came after another defendant in the case, Chow Ho Man, was granted bail in March. Two other defendants in the case were also granted bail in 2020.

💡Under court reporting restrictions on bail proceedings, written and broadcast reports are limited to only include the result of a bail application, the name of the person applying for bail and their representation, and the offence concerned.

Last November, the charge against seven of the eight defendants in the case was revised from causing explosions likely to endanger life or property under the city’s Crimes Ordinance, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, to the one under the UN anti-terrorism law that carries a maximum penalty of lifetime in prison.

Chow was the only one among the eight defendants whose charge was not revised.

The eight were accused of conspiring to place explosives inside a public toilet at the Shenzhen Bay Port, a train carriage at Lo Wu Station, and a hospital in early 2020. Citing sources, local media said they were members of a Telegram group that had claimed the responsibility for the incendiary devices, which aimed to threaten the government to close the border during the initial outbreak of Covid-19.

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