REPORTED THEFT OF CESIUM-137 FROM HONG KONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 001368 NOFORN SIPDIS FOR STATE DS/IP/EAP, ISN/CTR AND PMISO/PMAT BEIJING FOR RSO AND OCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2018 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM KCRM PTER PREL ASEC HK SUBJECT: REPORTED THEFT OF CESIUM-137 FROM HONG KONG HOSPITAL REF: STATE 16209 Classified By: RSO Vincent Graham, Reason 1.4 (c) ¶1. (C/NF) On Monday, July 21, 2008, the Assistant Regional Security Officer (ARSO) and a NFATC Crisis Management Team Leader paid a liaison visit to the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Headquarters in advance of two crisis management exercises at the U.S. Consulate General. During a tour of the facility, the head of the HKPF EOD Unit made an "off the cuff" remark that one of his biggest security concerns for the upcoming Olympic Equestrian events in Hong Kong was the February 2008 theft of a small quantity of Cesium-137 from the United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong. The HKPF EOD Unit has primary responsibility for responding to any type of nuclear or radiological incident. ¶2. (U) After returning to the Consulate General, the security office located two small South China Morning Post (SCMP) articles, dated 2 February and 3 February, 2008. The SCMP articles detailed the theft of the Cesium-137 which was purportedly in jelly form and stored within sealed plastic bottles inside lead containers. The containers were supposedly secured behind locked doors in the hospital's Department of Radiology and Organ Imaging. The paper reported that there were no signs of burglary, but that maintenance work had been going on recently in the room next door. The first article concluded by asking that anyone knowing the whereabouts of the Cesium-137 to report it immediately to the Hong Kong Police. ¶2. (SBU) Following up, on Thursday, July 23, 2008, the Regional Security Officer contacted several sources within the HKPF and asked for an update on the investigation into the theft of the Cesium-137. The police reported that they have not recovered the stolen Cesium-137 and that they did not have any new leads in the case. The Regional Security Office will continue to monitor the case and will report if there are any new developments. Marut