Hong Kong war games fan jailed for more than 5 years after he admits possession of unlicensed handgun and ammunition

She highlighted a DNA analysis of the pistol, which showed that at least four people had handled it before it was seized by police.

The High Court, where Wong Chun-yin was on Monday jailed for firearms offences. Photo: Warton Li

Woodcock set a starting point of eight years imprisonment, but reduced the term to five years and four months because of Wong’s early guilty plea.

The High Court heard Wong, a parking meter repair technician, and his wife had been interviewed after national security police launched an investigation into an alleged plot to murder police officers at a demonstration during 2019’s social unrest.

The pair were cleared of involvement by the police inquiry, but police charged him with unlicensed possession of arms and ammunition seized from the couple’s flat in Pat Heung’s Sheung Tsuen village in the New Territories.

A prosecution summary said police discovered a P80 semi-automatic pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition concealed under a sofa when the flat was searched on October 8, 2021.

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Two magazines, each loaded with 15 rounds, and a yellow box with 47 bullets inside were found under a computer desk in the defendant’s bedroom.

Wong said under caution he had bought the pistol and bullets from a man called Stephen So Hon-to, who he had met around 2011 while playing war games.

So was said to have approached Wong in 2019 and told him he could buy new pistols online for him.

He later bought the handgun and 92 rounds of ammunition on the dark web using bitcoin.

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Wong told police he had earlier turned down an offer from So to teach martial arts and knife-wielding skills to five people as he felt the group was dangerous.

Police on the same day also seized two air guns stored in the defendant’s previous home in Tai Po’s Fu Heng Estate.

Prosecutors agreed as part of a plea bargain not to pursue a separate charge of the same offence that involved the air guns.

Possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition in Hong Kong is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.