Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital, along with three companies affiliated with Apple Daily, is facing charges related to conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiring with others to publish seditious publications. The trial lasted 156 days and concluded today (Dec. 15) at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court (acting as the High Court) with a panel of three National Security Law-designated judges: Madam Justice Esther Toh, Judge Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios, and Justice Alex Lee. In addition to this case, Lai has numerous other charges, including fraud and multiple counts of illegal assembly, for which he has been convicted in court and is currently serving his sentence.
From June 27, 2016, to May 22, 2020, Lai, along with Next Digital's Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer, allegedly violated the lease of a HK$516 million site in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. They concealed this from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, resulting in companies linked to Lai acquiring nearly HK$20 million in rental benefits. Lai was thus charged with fraud and later convicted in the District Court.
On December 10, 2022, the court sentenced Lai, with Judge Stanley Chan stating that Lai's fraudulent activities lasted over 21 years, noting that he and Wong misused government-granted low-cost land for their own benefit. The judge mentioned that Lai and Next Digital held a certain social status in Hong Kong with many supporters, implying that Lai operated under the protection of media institutions, making it difficult for the Science Park to conduct surprise inspections, which was one factor for a harsher sentence.
The judge pointed out that while this case was not a major commercial fraud, Lai played an important role, adding that Lai showed no remorse since he did not plead for leniency. Ultimately, Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison, required to pay a fine of HK$2 million for profits gained, and was issued an 8-year disqualification order prohibiting him from serving as a company director. Wong was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Lai participated in multiple illegal assemblies from 2019 to 2020 and faced numerous charges afterward. Regarding the protest on August 18, 2019, Lai and other defendants were convicted on April 1, 2021, and sentenced to 12 months in prison. Lai and six others subsequently appealed, and the Court of Appeal ultimately ruled on August 14, 2023, that their appeal for the charge of "organizing an unauthorized assembly" was upheld, reducing Lai's sentence by three months to 9 months; however, the appeal for the charge of "knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly" was dismissed. For the protest on October 1, 2019, Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison on May 2021. Since the sentences for both cases partially ran concurrently, the total sentence was 20 months.
Regarding the illegal assembly on June 4, 2020, Lai was convicted for the third time in December 2021 and sentenced to 13 months in prison. The sentence for this case ran concurrently with the aforementioned two cases, maintaining the total sentence at 20 months. On August 12, 2024, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal rejected Lai's appeal request.
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