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Three men and one woman who are currently attending, or are alumni of, Western University face a slew of charges alleging — among other things — that they were storing chemicals that could be made into explosives at a house just west of campus in London, Ont.
“This is usually a pretty quiet neighbourhood. Nothing too exciting happens here,” said area resident Vivette Martin, after police taped off the beige corner house at 212 Chesham Pl. last Tuesday. “Everyone’s just been very curious as to what’s going on.”
All four received additional charges on Monday, including the manufacturing of a gun. Here’s what else we know about them:
Jerry Tong
The oldest of the accused, 27-year-old Jerry Tong, is the only one who doesn’t live in London.
Police and court records have linked him to Ottawa and to a house in Gatineau, Que., respectively, and the case has seen search warrants issued for locations in both cities.
According to a LinkedIn profile that matches Tong’s name and appearance, he got an engineering degree at Western in 2022.
He stayed in London for another year, working as a wealth adviser at National Bank Financial, which a company spokesperson confirmed.
The profile says he then moved to Ottawa to work as an investment adviser for another company until 2025. Tong faces the following 11 charges:
- Carrying a concealed weapon.
- Careless use of a firearm.
- Possessing a loaded regulated firearm.
- Resisting arrest.
- Breaking and entering with intent.
- Occupying a motor vehicle with a firearm.
- Possessing an explosive substance.
- Storing a restricted weapon in a careless manner.
- Possessing a prohibited firearm.
- Possessing a loaded firearm at the residence.
- Manufacturing a prohibited firearm.
Fei (Frank) Han
Fei (Frank) Han, 25, appeared in a virtual bail hearing on Monday wearing the same black, square glasses frames as seen in Facebook and LinkedIn pictures that match the accused’s name and general appearance.
Those photos include one of a smiling young man wearing a Queen’s Rocket Engineering Team (QRET) hoodie while holding a bright orange rocket.
After completing an undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., Han continued his education at Western where he pursued a master of engineering, according to the LinkedIn profile.
He was an active member of rocketry teams at both schools, it says, participating in the Western Engineering Rocketry Team from 2023-24 and on QRET for five years before that.
CBC News reached out to both teams for comment, but Western’s did not respond and the Queen’s team declined to comment.
Han is one of three accused who live at 212 Chesham Pl. He is charged with the following:
- Unlawful possession of explosives, including several precursor substances and finished high explosives.
- Storing a restricted weapon in a careless manner.
- Possessing a prohibited firearm.
- Possessing a loaded firearm at the residence.
- Manufacturing a prohibited firearm.
Zekun Wang
Also listed by police and court documents as living at the house on Chesham, 26-year-old Zekun Wang is currently on Western’s student directory as a graduate student — and convocation programs show that he has graduated with both a master of engineering science and bachelor of science.
While doing his undergraduate degree, he spent a year with a research group called the Multiscale Deformation Lab within Western’s Spencer Engineering Building, according to an entry on the lab’s website which has since been deleted.
Wang faces the following seven charges:
- Breaking and entering with intent.
- Occupying a motor vehicle with a firearm.
- Possessing an explosive substance.
- Storing a restricted weapon in a careless manner.
- Possessing a prohibited firearm.
- Possessing a loaded firearm at the residence.
- Manufacturing a prohibited firearm.
Feiyang (Astrid) Ji
The only woman charged, 21-year-old Feiyang (Astrid) Ji, is the biggest mystery of all.
Ji’s name appears on the Western student directory listed as a faculty of science student. An otherwise-empty LinkedIn profile matching her name says she is set to graduate in 2027.
She is accused of the following:
- Unlawful possession of explosives, including several precursor substances and finished high explosives.
- Storing a restricted weapon in a careless manner.
- Possessing a prohibited firearm.
- Possessing a loaded firearm at the residence.
- Manufacturing a prohibited firearm.
An RCMP unit specializing in national security issues is supporting police in London, Ont., investigating four people facing a series of charges including manufacturing firearms and possessing explosives.
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