A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he placed bomb hoax threats targeting Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium in an attempt to plant blame on his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend for the criminal act.

At West Kowloon Court on Wednesday, Zhang Kejia, 35, pleaded guilty to making three bomb hoax threats on May 13 this year, and to perverting the course of public justice while in custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in June.

Acting Principal Magistrate Andy Cheng Lim-chi sentenced Zhang to five months for the bomb hoax charges and two months for the perversion charge, with the first month of the latter sentence to run concurrently with the initial sentence.

“He could expect the police, when receiving his message, would inject much manpower to ensure safety. Therefore, I cannot accept a social service order or suspended sentence as punishment,” Cheng said.

Zhang made three phone calls to police, each time playing the same recorded message claiming he had planted a bomb at Kai Tak Stadium.

The stadium was due to host a concert by Taiwanese band Mayday that evening. During the calls, Zhang declared independence for Taiwan and Hong Kong.