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National Security Act: Hong Kong Media Mogul Jimmy Lai Returns Home After Prosecutors Lost Attempt To Revoke Judge’s 10 Million Hong Kong Dollar Bail
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying can spend Christmas at home after prosecutors failed in their attempt to vacate the 10 million Hong Kong dollar ($ 1.3 million) bail. ) given to him by a judge, who put him under house arrest on Wednesday. Wearing a gray jacket, white shirt and pants, the 73-year-old left Superior Court with his lawyers at 10:50 p.m. after bail proceedings were completed, ending a four-hour wait by dozens of journalists outside. to the press before taking the front passenger seat of his private car, while police temporarily cordoned off a road to allow his departure. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the great stories originating from China. , owner of the Apple Daily newspaper, had spent the past 20 days in custody after being charged first with fraud and then with collusion under Beijing’s national security law. He was ordered to observe a series of “tailor-made” terms for h Judge Alex Lee Wan-tang ordered that Lai remain at his home on Kadoorie Avenue in Ho Man Tin at all times, except when he had to be temporarily released after of becoming the first person charged under the new legislation to win bail. Lee, one of two publicly known High Court judges appointed to handle national security cases, banned Lai from engaging in acts that “could reasonably be seen” as calling on foreign governments to impose sanctions or a blockade. , or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. He was also prohibited from meeting with foreign government officials, attending or conducting interviews or media shows, posting articles in any medium, and posting messages or comments on social media, including Twitter. The judge ordered Lai to deposit HK $ 10 million in court and asked his three surety bonds, whose identities were not disclosed, each deposit of HK $ 100,000. He also ordered Lai to hand over all travel documents and report to the police three times a week. Anthony Chau Tin-hang, senior deputy director of public prosecutions, said his team would seek to appeal the bail decision in the city’s superior court, and asked the judge to preserve the status quo by ordering that Lai be detained pending appeal. But Lee rejected the request, casting doubt on whether he had the right to consider such a request, and whether the law allowed prosecutors to take his complaint to court. Final Court of Appeal. “I don’t have the jurisdiction [to grant the application]”Lee said, adding that he would issue a written ruling to explain his ruling later. After the hearing, Lai conveyed festive greetings from the pier to those seated in the court’s public gallery, saying:” Happy, Merry Christmas. “He had returned to court Wednesday for a bail review after a magistrate rejected two previous requests. He had been in pretrial detention since December 3, when he was charged with fraud along with two senior Next executives. Digital: Royston Chow Tat-kuen, 63, and Wong Wai -keung, 59. Prosecutors allege that Lai defrauded Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, a government-owned company, by violating the terms of the land lease on the use of Next Digital’s office space at Tseung Kwan O. The space was said to have been improperly sublet to a secretarial firm, Dico Consultants Limited, from June 27, 2016 to May 22, 2020, in violation of a 1999 land lease agreement, allowing Dico to evade land premiums and Next Digital to earn a rent. Giving bond to Wong and Chow, but declined Lai’s request. A week later, Lai was brought back to court, to face national security law charges, for allegedly colluding with foreign powers. calling on overseas countries to “speak out and take action” on Beijing’s crackdown, even after the new law came into effect on June 30. They also addressed Lai’s Apple Daily comments, in which he said he believed in international sanctions against Beijing under the new law.Judge So again rejected Lai’s request for bail, this time in his capacity as a judicial official. designated to handle national security law cases. Lai has been released on bail in three other cases related to last year’s anti-government protests and in another about the banned vigil on June 4 this year. Both the fraud and national security law cases are scheduled to return to West Kowloon Court on April 16. More from the South China Morning Post: * Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai used tabloids and Twitter to push for illegal sanctions against local and Chinese authorities, prosecutors say * National security law: Hong Kong media mogul Kong Jimmy Lai Charged With This Article National Security Act: Hong Kong Media Mogul Jimmy Lai Returns Home After Prosecutors Lost Bid To Void Judge’s HK $ 10 Million Bail Appeared For The First Time on the South China Morning Post for the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
