Police set off their own bombs 'to show the risk'

Police set off their own bombs 'to show the risk'

The room before police detonated their device. Photo: RTHK

A second explosion wrecked furniture in this room at the base of the police's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau. Photo: RTHK

Timmy Sung reports

Hong Kong police detonated their own bombs on Friday, as a demonstration of how dangerous such devices can be.



The stunt came as the force says it is dealing with an "ongoing bombing campaign" in the city, with dozens of alleged explosives finds in recent months.



The police's first explosion sent nails flying through the room, shattering windows, with debris outside found some 20 metres from the blast site.



Officers said they had put 250 grammes of high grade RDX explosive in a tin, with the nails added for good measure. The dummy holding the tin didn't fare too well, with its arms broken after the explosion.



The media had been invited for the demonstration in a 150-square foot room at the base of the force's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau.



In another demonstration, police put 500 grams of RDX in a metal rubbish bin, with the furniture in the room completely wrecked when the bomb went off.



The point was to show how much damage bombs can cause and senior bomb disposal officer Alick McWhirter said while these were controlled explosions, real attacks are indiscriminate.



"It does not matter whether a bomb is large or small, whether it is low explosives or high explosives, it can kill and injure," McWhirter said.



Police have been announcing one explosives find after another lately. On Sunday, they said they had seized 2.6 tonnes of chemicals "to be used to make bombs", at a commercial building in Tai Kok Tsui.



A number of arrests were made, with officers linking the find to some small blasts recently. No injuries or major damage have been reported.



"We have been dealing over the past few months with an ongoing bombing campaign, almost unprecedented in Hong Kong. Certainly, it is starting to bear all the hallmarks of homegrown terrorism," McWhirter said.