Hong Kong police on Wednesday morning arrested a student leader from Hong Kong Baptist University for the third time, after he was found carrying 10 laser pointers in his bag more than a year ago.

Keith Fong, president of the university’s student union, was taken away from home in Sha Tin at about 7 a.m. by over 20 police officers, the student union said at around 8:30 a.m. on its Facebook page.

Fong, 22, was arrested for possessing offensive weapons in a public place, resisting police officers in the due execution of their duties and obstructing the course of justice, Ho Chun-tung, senior superintendent of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, told reporters later in the morning.

The alleged offenses related to an incident on Aug. 6 last year when off-duty officers intercepted Fong on Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, the senior superintendent said. He tried to run away and was subdued by the officers, who found 10 high-powered laser pointers in his plastic bag and arrested him on the spot.

At that time, Fong told the officers that he had bought the items for star-gazing, Ho continued. Such laser pointers typically emitted a green light, he said, but the confiscated items had a blue beam, so the police did not believe that Fong intended to use them to view stars, Ho said. According to international standards, the seized laser devices were high-powered and meant for “industrial or military usage,” and could cause eye injury, he added.

Ho also said that when Fong was later sent to hospital for a medical check, he reset the settings in his mobile phone, deleting all the data inside, possibly including records that were linked to his case, hence his latest arrest over alleged obstruction of justice.

In that August incident, Fong declined to enter into bail procedures and was temporarily released, Ho said. Police re-arrested him on Wednesday after an in-depth investigation and consultation with the Department of Justice, Ho added. The suspect had been taken to Sha Tin Police Station and was expected to be brought before Western Magistrates’ Court for mention next Tuesday.

Responding to Fong’s arrest on Wednesday, the student union wrote on Facebook condemning the regime in Hong Kong for capturing dissidents and creating white terror after national security laws came into effect.

In the Aug. 6 incident, Fong was detained for 46 hours. Police again intercepted Fong a month later, on Sep. 2 in Mong Kok, Kowloon. Officers found a lost wallet on Fong and arrested him for theft, but later released him unconditionally as evidence showed he was going to return the wallet to the owner.

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