Filipina domestic helper linked to bomb scare released on bail

Police take Wong Wai-yin to Sha Tau Kok as they locate his house where he supposedly kept explosive devices.

The Filipina domestic helper who was arrested for alleged possession of explosives on Jan.16,2020 along with her employers has been released on bail.

A police spokesman told Hong Kong News on Jan.20 that the domestic helper has been freed along with the two other women who were nabbed in Sha Tau Kok after a police search of a house there netted 100 grams of substance allegedly used for making explosives.

“She is now out on bail. She is expected to report back to the police in mid-February,” the police spokesman said.

After she reports back, it will then be determined if her bail can be extended or if she should be detained.

The 47-year-old Filipina domestic helper was previously taken by the police along with two women aged 27 and 57 in Sheung Shui. The two were said to be the wife and mother, respectively, of Wong Wai-yin, a 29-year-old mechanical technician who was arrested along with three others on Jan.14 in connection with a police raid of a flat in Mong Kok where pipe bombs were found.

Local reports said the police found 40 grams of explosives inside the bomb and other items which they said could be protest paraphernalia. These include gas masks and bulletproof vests.

Wong has been charged with the possession of explosive substances at the Fanling Court on Jan.16 and could face up to14 years in prison if found guilty.

The police linked him and six others arrested on Jan.15 to a radical group of protesters against the government. Four of those arrested are students. They were detained for alleged possession of explosives and for supposedly conspiring to manufacture IEDs.