Three men charged over illegal military-style drills in Hong Kong

Wong Kit-lun, Tang Ngai-pok and Chan Hiu-chun charged with conspiracy to subvert state power, Wong also accused of possessing child pornography

Hong Kong police have brought more defendants to court from the city’s first arrests over alleged illegal drills under its domestic national security law, charging three men with conspiracy to subvert state power.

Wong Kit-lun, 20, Tang Ngai-pok, 23, and Chan Hiu-chun, 23, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, each facing one count of conspiracy to subvert state power.

Wong received an additional charge of possessing child pornography.

A police spokesman said the three men were among 10 people arrested last December for suspected involvement in military-style combat training, which the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance prohibits.

“Police investigation showed that the syndicate conducted arms drills, knife and combat training in an industrial unit in Kowloon. They also conspired, organised, planned, implemented or took part in the use of force or threatened to use force in actions aiming to subvert state power,” the spokesman said.

According to a court document seen by the South China Morning Post, Wong was accused of possessing six photos and five videos containing child pornography on his mobile phone when arrested at an industrial unit in San Po Kong on December 11 last year.

The spokesman added that two other men arrested in the same operation, aged 24 and 26, had already been charged separately with conspiracy to subvert state power.