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Monday, August 18, 1997

Students arrested in bomb plot against fellow student

CRIME:

Bomb equipment found in dorm room of two Berkeley sophomoresBy Anand Patel

Daily Bruin Contributor

Two sophomores at UC Berkeley were arrested after allegedly planning to use a homemade bomb to settle a grudge with a fellow student.

Terence Tam and Ben Kuo, both 18, were arrested last Saturday after UC Berkeley Police found several bomb-making components in their room at Berkeley's International House. The two students are suspected of plotting to create explosives.

Police went to their room after receiving a tip that Tam was seen stealing dry ice from the university's chemistry department. Dry ice and glass bottles can be used to make certain types of homemade bombs.

"They had nothing that was dangerous assembled, but what could be made could have been destructive," said Captain Pat Carroll of the UC Berkeley police.

Several homemade bomb-making components were found in the student's room. The items included empty soft drink bottles, black powder, shotgun shells, a video of Tam and Kuo making the bombs, and some notes.

"It hadn't been put together when we found it," said Carroll. "There were no destructive devices, but there were materials that could have assembled one. That, coupled with the dry ice and statements made by (Tam and Kuo), led us to the conclusion of the students' intent."

Tam and Kuo told police that they only wanted to use the bomb to scare a fellow student. The three developed a grudge last year when they were classmates at the same high school in Los Angeles.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the grudge arose when the intended victim out-performed them in a 1996 high school science fair.

Tam and Kuo were both charged with possession of destructive materials, and Tam is also charged with burglary. Both were released on their own recognizance, and reportedly went to Los Angeles to live with their parents.

"They are charged with felonies that could send them to prison, but I don't expect that to happen," said Carroll. "As far as the UC administration goes, I am not sure about what they'll do, but I know that they are going over the issue."

"My main concern is one bomb leads to the next bomb, pretty soon they're not happy with the explosion from this one and they get into something that's potentially lethal for a lot of people," Carroll continued.

A pretrial hearing was set for Aug. 28.

With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.

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