- Louis Lo faces one charge of possessing an explosive substance, an offence that can carry a 14-year prison term
- Lo was one of three men arrested in connection with seizure of suspicious substance in Tsuen Wan
A Hong Kong National Front member arrested after the seizure of what has been described as the largest amount of explosives found in the city since its return to China in 1997 was denied bail by a court on Monday.
Louis Lo Yat-sun, 27, applied for bail on his first court appearance following his arrest last Saturday in connection with the find at an industrial building in Tsuen Wan.
West Kowloon Court heard the unemployed man faced one count of possessing an explosive substance, an offence punishable by 14 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Lo knowingly possessed triacetone triperoxide on July 19, at Lung Shing Factory Building on Texaco Road.
The defendant spoke only to say he "understood" after the charge was read out in court.
Lo was not required to enter a plea as prosecutors need 12 more weeks to conduct further investigations.
That will include reviewing the building's security camera footage, and analysing DNA, fingerprints, and samples of the substances found at the scene.
Investigators will also examine a mobile phone Lo was carrying, as well as other electronic devices, including computers, seized from his Tsuen Wan residence and the unit of the industrial building he occupied.
The bespectacled man watched the public gallery as lawyers argued over his bail application.
Among those seated was disqualified lawmaker Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, who as the pro-independence group's spokesman had acknowledged Lo as a member.
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Acting Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee eventually refused to release Lo after siding with senior public prosecutor Teresa Kam Yuk.
"You have the right to apply for bail from the higher Court of First Instance," Yim reminded Lo.
The case will return to the same court on October 14.
Lo was among three men arrested on Saturday night following a police raid that led to the discovery of petrol bombs and triacetone triperoxide.
But the other two have been released on police bail, with the condition they report back a month later.
Most of the alleged explosives were disposed of in controlled explosions by the police bomb squad last Saturday.
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