The Court of First Instance of the High Court had earlier ruled that Jimmy Lai was guilty of three offences endangering national security.
The SAR Government has recently filed an application with the Court of First Instance, pursuant to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL) and the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for a confiscation order in respect of the property related to Lai's offences, to achieve the important purpose of preventing and stopping acts and activities endangering national security.
A spokesperson for the SAR Government stressed that the HKSAR is a society governed by the rule of law, and has always adhered to the principle that the law must be obeyed and violations must be prosecuted. In this context, applying to the court for a confiscation order is one of the effective means to combat serious crimes and protect the public interest. The legal framework and mechanisms for confiscating crime-related property are also common in many parts of the world. Confiscation orders made for the purpose of safeguarding national security can prevent persons who have committed offences endangering national security, as well as their accomplices or agents, from using property related to such offences to continue carrying out acts and activities that endanger national security, thereby cutting off the funding chain for such offences and weakening their ability to commit them.
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