Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying arrives in a prison van at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Center after being detained on suspicion of fraud on December 3, 2020.
Hong Kong media tycoon Li Zhiying, known for his outspokenness, has been a thorn in the side of the Chinese Communist Party. He was charged with one count of fraud on Thursday (April 3) and his case was adjourned until April next year, but the magistrate rejected his bail application, meaning he will have to spend the winter in jail. The various arrangements in the case have led to questions about whether the case is a “political prosecution”.
Chi-Ying Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul and founder of Next Media Group, was brought to court less than a week before his 72nd birthday. He was charged with one count of fraud along with two of Next Media’s top executives, Chief Operating Officer David Chow and Chief Executive Officer Michael Wong. They appeared in court on Thursday after being detained overnight by Hong Kong police on Wednesday (2nd) and looked weary.
The case arrangement is different from the usual cases
- The National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police is responsible for the National Security Law Appointed Judges (NSLAD).
Li Zhiying has been regarded as a thorn in the side of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and has been bombarded by the CCP media as the leader of the “Gang of Four”. The arrangements in this case have been questioned as different from ordinary cases. First of all, the charge is fraud, but the National Security Division of the Hong Kong police is in charge of the prosecution, which is handled by the National Security Law-appointed judge, Chief Magistrate So Wai Tak.
The charge alleges that from the end of June 2016 to the end of May this year, the three men used the premises at 8 Chun Ying Street in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate without complying with the lease signed with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) in May 1999, and concealed the use of the premises from HKSTPC, to the detriment of HKSTPC or to the benefit of Apple Printing Company or LECCO Consultants. The prosecution said that the three persons used the premises for other purposes with full knowledge and applied for an adjournment of the case until April 16 next year for further investigation.
Second, the prosecution has a rare record of three travelers opposing bail.
The second point of concern is that the prosecution opposes bail on the grounds that the defendants pose a flight risk, and rarely presents the travel records of the three, detailing the number of times they have left Hong Kong in the past two and a half years. The first defendant, Chi-Ying Lai, has been away from Hong Kong longer than the other two, and is involved in four cases, all of which are serious and have a greater chance of absconding, the prosecution said.
Peter Duncan, a senior barrister representing Chi-Young Lai, countered that the prosecution’s claims were not supported by evidence, saying it was normal for Chi-Young Lai to leave Hong Kong on business with her colleagues because she has business in Taiwan. He also said that although Chi-Young Lai has other cases, he has not been convicted of any crime and should be considered innocent.
- Of the three, Li Zhiying is the only one who was not granted bail.
In the end, Magistrate So Wai Tak found that the first defendant, Lai Chi Ying, was a risk of absconding and had a high chance of recidivism, and denied his application for bail and was remanded in custody; the second defendant, Chow Tat Kuen, was granted bail in the sum of HK$200,000 in cash and HK$200,000 in surety, while the third defendant, Wong Wai Keung, was granted bail in the sum of HK$100,000 in cash and was required to surrender his Hong Kong and British passports. The two are not allowed to leave Hong Kong and report to the police station every week.
Of the three, Chi-Ying Lai is the only one who was denied bail by the magistrate, which is the third point of interest in the case. Zhang Jianhong, chief executive officer of Next Media and president of Apple Daily, said outside the courtroom, “A very minor offense is not bailable,” and said he would appeal the bail application.
Democrats: A Naked Political Prosecution
A number of pro-democracy activists, including Democratic Party Chairman Hu Zhiwei and party members Li Yongda and Lin Zhuo-ting, attended the hearing in support of the case. The case is not that serious and can be used as a political prosecution.
I find it hard to accept that a case that is not that serious can be prosecuted and dealt with in this way,” Lin said.
Legal scholar: Generally speaking, bail for fraud is not difficult to obtain
Chi-Ying Lai’s denial of bail means he may have to spend his birthday, Christmas and New Year’s in jail. The University of Hong Kong Law School Principal Lecturer Zhang Daming said that whether a defendant can be released on bail and the conditions of his bail depend on the circumstances of each case, but fraud is not the most serious crime, with a sentence of 10 years or less. Generally speaking, it is not very difficult for a fraud defendant to apply for bail, so it is a bit surprising that Chi-Young Lai was not granted bail.
Every case will be different, but generally speaking, if you have no criminal record, no record of bail abandonment, and no evidence that you will leave Hong Kong and have a fixed residence in Hong Kong, bail will generally be granted,” said Cheung Tat-ming. “
Zhang Daming said, Hong Kong in the common law under the “presumption of innocence”, if you are worried about the defendant to abscond on bail, you can ask the defendant to surrender travel documents, and regularly to report to the police station, etc. The prosecution may not win the case, once the defendant is eventually found not guilty, before bail is not granted. The prosecution does not necessarily win the case, once the defendant is ultimately found not guilty, before not granting bail, is very unfair.
Widely watched by the media, denouncing the use of rental disputes against political opponents
The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial titled “Jimmy Lai, China’s Lie” on the arrest of Jimmy Lai, described the push for democracy in Hong Kong today as enough to make people criminals, and criticized those in power for criminalizing rental disputes and cracking down on political opponents. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) pointed out in its report that the incident heightened fears that the authorities were using the controversial Hong Kong version of the National Security Law to launch a new round of crackdown on democrats and the media.
Chi-Ying Lai: For Hong Kong, no matter if it’s freedom or life, I will not hesitate to lose it.
However, all of this seemed to be clear to Li Zhiying. Before he was handcuffed and sent to the detention center, he did not look back, but walked right into the place where he was going to be imprisoned.
In an interview with this station in June, he recalled how he came to Hong Kong at the age of 12 with only one Hong Kong dollar in his pocket. He was thankful for the place that gave him everything, and he was willing to stay in the city and continue his resistance. He said at the time: “No matter if it’s freedom or life that’s lost in the end, it’s something I don’t mind.”
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