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Bogus bomb brings 'my longest hour'
 DSPC Au (right) and officers re-create the frightening scene in which they grappled with a man set to hurl a grenade |
With white knuckles and a cold sweat, Detective Senior Police Constable Au Lai-man saw his life flash before his eyes recently when clasping a suspected live grenade for over an hour.
He had snatched it from a violent suspect in a Kwun Tong games centre on January 6, who pulled the pin threatening the lives of all around. Running outside and screaming for all to clear the area, DSPC Au grappled the safety trigger of the bomb until experts from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau arrived.
"I clutched at the grenade, holding my breath, and dared not move fearing that if it fell, we would all be reduced to ashes," DSPC Au recently told OffBeat.
The incident happened when he and a number of other officers from Kwun Tong Divisional Crime Support Team, led by Sergeant Ho Wing-keung, raided the Hong Ning Road games centre for an inspection of ID cards.
One gamer made a dash for the exit and turned violent when stopped by an officer. He took out the grenade and pulled the pin yelling for all to stay away. DSPC Au snatched the grenade and the suspect was arrested. However, officers were still on alert as a suspected pistol was also seized inside the centre.
DSPC Au said the following hour was the "longest" of his life because he had to hold the grenade tightly so its tiny metal plate on top, the last protective mechanism, would not dislodge and cause an explosion.
However, he was not left alone through the ordeal with SGT Ho wrapping DSPC Au's hands with a towel so sweat would not cause the grenade to slip. He also grabbed a chair for the anxious officer and comforted him until help arrived.
The weapons were later found to be fakes.
SGT Ho said: "None of us dared to think the grenade or the gun were fakes. All that was on our minds was to settle the situation as soon as we could with as little casualties as possible."
DSPC Au was highly praised by his colleagues for his courageous work which he quickly shrugged-off as top "team work".
However it was not the first time the plucky officer has encountered such explosives. He nervously recalled a similar situation in 1991 when he and his colleagues found a suspicious looking carton heavily wrapped with paper while raiding a building in Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po.
"We opened the paper wrapping and were stunned to find three grenades. We were left breathless as we could have accidentally set them off."
EOD officers found the grenades to be real and briefed the officers on the basics of handling explosives. "I never forgot what I learned from that incident and from the advice of EOD officers.
"I think that's what kept me calm and professional throughout this latest ordeal," he said.