Two men may face jail time after blowing up animal volunteer with ‘poultry bomb’

[VinnieV]

Two men may face jail time after blowing up animal volunteer with ‘poultry bomb’ meant to hunt wild boars

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 03 October, 2015, 7:00am
UPDATED : Saturday, 03 October, 2015, 6:59pm

Chris Lau
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Defendants Ho Kwok-fai and Chan San planted a bomb in Lion Rock Country Park to kill wild pigs. Photo: AFP

Two construction workers might be put behind bars after their plan to hunt wild boars with a “poultry bomb” went terribly wrong, severely injuring the fingers of an animal volunteer, a judge warned.

Ho Kwok-fai, 53, and Chan San, 55, wrapped the bomb – made of arsenic sulphide and potassium – within layers of poultry skins and placed it in Lion Rock Country Park on November 29, prosecutor Gary Leung Yuk-hang told the District Court.

The two pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing the explosive that was responsible for blowing animal volunteer Liu Kwan-kiu away by two metres when he tried to unwrap what he thought was merely a poisonous animal trap.

As a result, the court heard, Liu underwent multiple operations in the following month and lost the tip of his left thumb and part of his middle finger.

Police found what appeared to be meat from wild pigs in the refrigerators of both defendants.

Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che sought community service reports on the pair – but stressed that a custodial sentence seemed inevitable.

The court heard that Liu and his friends tailed Ho and Chan after they spotted the pair acting suspiciously near the location that day.

The group retrieved the bomb Chan buried in the ground and took it away, fearing it could poison wildlife in the area.

The bomb, covered with poultry skins sewn together with strings, exploded when Liu examined it in Sha Tin, leaving him and a friend covered in blood.

Police tracked down Ho’s vehicle and arrested him, and was then led by him to Chan.

Under police caution, Ho said he and Chan merely wanted to kill boars and never intended to hurt anyone.

Ho admitted he killed a boar with Chan at another spot in October 2014 and took some meat home.

Yiu adjourned the case to October 28 for sentencing.