A former member of a defunct Hong Kong pro-independence group has been jailed for 12 years for possessing explosives, in the heaviest sentence handed down for cases related to the 2019 protests.

Louis Lo had pleaded guilty to one count of keeping explosives with intent to endanger life or property relating to one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of triacetone triperoxide, commonly known as TATP, seized at an industrial building in Tsuen Wan in July 2019.

Lo, 29, was a member of the Hong Kong National Front, which disbanded just before the national security law was enforced in June last year.

Justice Andrew Chan said at sentencing on Friday that Lo had the intention of subversion and of pushing forward Hong Kong independence. Although there was no evidence that Lo was involved in the July 1, 2019, storming of the Legislative Council, the case was clearly related to the protests that year, Chan ruled.

The prosecution cited the case of “King of Thieves” Yip Kai-foon, who was jailed for 18 years for possessing the explosive TNT, saying that TATP was even more unstable. In mitigation, Lo’s defense argued that TATP had a lower destructive power, citing an academic paper.

Chan sided with the prosecution as he said the paper was analyzing explosions under a laboratory environment.

Chan also mentioned that weapons and books promoting Hong Kong independence were found at the Tsuen Wan unit, as well as two documents on making bombs found on Lo’s phone. Chan described the latter as documents for terrorists.

The case was serious and Lo was a main figure in it, Chan said. The court must give a deterrent sentence, he added.

Although the amount of explosives found was relatively small, the potential danger was more serious than that of the Yip Kai-foon case, Chan said. Yip — a notorious armed robber in the 1980s and 1990s — was looking for money when committing crimes, but Lo was going after the Hong Kong government and the stability of the region, with the intention of creating fear and terror among citizens, he said.

Lo should face the same or even higher punishment than Yip, Chan said. He used 18 years as the starting point for sentencing and deducted one-third for the guilty plea.

The case had earlier been withdrawn as the prosecution failed to secure a letter of agreement from the justice secretary. Lo was then charged again. However, the three months Lo had already served in custody would not be counted as time served.

The prosecution and the defense debated sentence reduction due to the issue. Chan ruled that the time in custody would be counted as time served.

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