All five defendants in San Po Kong subversion case intend to plead guilty, court hears

Two men have told a Hong Kong court that they intend to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit subversion after they were arrested on suspicion of illegal weapons training in an industrial building in San Po Kong.

Student Tang Ngai-pok and waiter Chan Hiu-chun appeared at the District Court on Thursday, local media reported. The defence told Judge Stanley Chan that the duo planned to plead guilty to the charges.

The two are among five defendants who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion last December. All five have now stated in court that they intend to plead guilty.

The judge said the five were set to enter their pleas together on March 15 next year. They will remain remanded in custody until then.

In October, the other three defendants – student Wong Kit-lun, security guard Gallian Pang and security guard Lee Chun-sum – told the court that they would plead guilty to the subversion charges, local media reported.

Wong was also charged with possession of child pornography. The prosecution said in court in October that a plea bargain had been reached with the defence: after Wong pleaded guilty to subversion, the charge of possession of child pornography would be left on file.

Tang and Chan were both 23 years old when they were charged last December. Lee was 26 at the time, while Pang was 24 and Wong was 21.

The prosecution alleged that between November 1, 2024 and December 11, 2025, the five defendants conspired together and with other persons unknown to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by force or threat of force with a view to subverting state power and overthrowing the body of power of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Arrests under Article 23

The five were among a group of 10 people who were arrested on December 11 and December 12 last year.

Superintendent Chow Hok-yin said that officers raided a unit at the San Po Kong industrial building on December 11 with a court warrant and found six men inside, one providing combat training to the others.

Officers seized five air rifles, two air pistols, replicas of five military knives and a long sword, as well as items bearing anti-government slogans, Chow said.

“Additionally, we found objects suspected to be explosives,” he said in Cantonese, adding that the objects were being examined by the force’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau.

Police later arrested another three men in Tai Po and Yau Ma Tei. On December 12, they arrested a woman.

All of them were arrested under the “unlawful drilling” provision of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the city’s locally enacted security legislation known as Article 23. Five were later charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.

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