The latest in a string of prosecutions against well-known activists that critics claim are intended to quell dissent in the city, a Hong Kong court on Saturday condemned a pro-democracy television entrepreneur to five years with nine months in jail for two fraud counts related to leasing violations.
Jimmy Lai, who was detained as part of an assault on the town’s pro-democracy movement in response to significant protests in 2019, also was penalized 2 million Kong dollars ($257,000).
His media venture, Next Digital, produced the now-defunct pro-democracy daily Apple Daily. The newspaper was forced to shut down after the imprisonment of its chief execs, editors, and reporters last year.
For subletting a portion of the office buildings to a secretarial business he also owned and controlled between 2016 and 2020, Lai was convicted of fraud in October. The second fraud charge was for allegedly violating rental contracts between 1998 to 2015 by allowing the same company to utilize the media outlet’s office space.
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The court at the time determined that Lai had concealed the fact that the business was renting the building’s space and that the actions had breached the rental contracts with the Hong Kong Sciences as well as Technology Parks Corp.
Lai had utilized his media organization as “a cover of protection” while committing the offenses, which Judge Stanley Chan described as “structured and planned,” over a 20-year period.
He claimed that Lai had no remorse for his actions and that the court had no reason to shorten his sentence.
Chan noted that Wong Wai-Keung, a former co-worker of Lai’s who was found guilty of one count of fraud in connection with the case, must spend 21 months in prison.
Earlier, Lai’s legal team requested that the UN look into whether his detention and several criminal charges were intended as “legal harassment” to penalize him for talking out. The businessman was previously given a 20-month prison term for his involvement in unlawful meetings.
The start of his homeland security trial, which was previously set on December 1, was delayed after leader John Lee requested that China essentially forbid him from obtaining a British defense attorney. Lai may spend up to life in jail if found guilty.
In the moderately Chinese city, the security law’s implementation resulted in the arrests of numerous well-known democratic campaigners. In 1997, Hong Kong, a formerly British colony, was once again under Chinese control.
Additionally, it has diminished confidence in the future of the global financial center as more and more young professionals relocate outside in response to declining freedoms.
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