Sydney man a human bomb?

Press, 18 February 1984, Page 8

Sydney man a human bomb?

NZPA-AAP Sydney A 72-year-old businessman who was threatening to blow up the Hyatt Kingsgate building at Kings Cross, Sydney, said last evening that he was prepared “to die like a martyr.” The proprietor of an opal store in the shopping arcade had been holed-up there for several hours and said he was wired to two drums containing gelignite. The man said he was angry about a rent rise for the shop and told A.A.P. by telephone that he had spent more than $250,000 in a tenancy dispute. He said that there was no way the police could gain access to his shop — and if they fired tear gas the explosives would be set off. The shop had steel walls and bul-let-proof glass. He said he had planned his protest for months and nobody other than himself would be injured if the police thoroughly evacuated the area. Should the blast happen, he said the main damage would be caused in the vicinity of four pillars in the Kings Cross railway tunnel. The man said he had brought details of his dispute to the notice of the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Hayden. The police late yesterday searched the man’s home for any note he might have left or any evidence of his having acquired explosives. The man said he held a licence to obtain explosives and was experienced in handling them because of his war service. The police had evacuated the lower two floors of the Hyatt building, which contains a hotel, and surrounding roads in busy Kings Cross had been closed.

The man said he had resorted to the plan to blow up the area because he had lost all his money, including his late son’s life savings, in legal and other costs associated with the tenancy dispute.