On Wednesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a statement saying that it would put the founder of a media company, Lai Chi-ying, on the list of “Religious Prisoners of Conscience” and asked the Chinese side to release him; however, at 11:20 a.m. on Friday, Lai Chi-ying, who had not yet been convicted, was handcuffed with chains on both hands and taken away from Lai Chi Kok Reception Center by Correctional Services Department officers in a prison van.
In addition, Friday morning at 8 o’clock, the Apple Daily two senior officers had gone to the remand home to visit Lai Chi-ying, but the two entered the remand home was refused a visit, and soon after then left.
He was accused of violating the terms of the lease of the industrial estate, and was charged with fraud on the 3rd of this month, and was sent to the West Kowloon Magistrate’s Court for arraignment.
According to Hong Kong’s common law principles, scabbards who have not been convicted by the court, such as Lai Chi-ying, are still “innocent”, generally such people will only be remanded to the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in Kowloon, and will rarely be detained in the high security Stanley Prison, so the reason behind the Correctional Services Department to do so is a cause for concern. In fact, before Lai Chi-ying was sent to Stanley Prison on Friday, he had recently received a human rights-related award from a foreign organization. The timing of CSD’s move of Lai Chi-ying to a prison cell is particularly sensitive.
Hong Kong “Apple Daily” quoted sources close to the Correctional Services Department pointed out that if the scabbard awaiting trial is suddenly transferred from the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to the highly secure Stanley Prison, it is because of three main reasons: first, the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre is too crowded and needs to divert prisoners; second, the prison side may be to prevent prisoners from stirring up trouble, so he was suddenly transferred to the remote Stanley Prison, hoping to make some people want to visit the prison because they are too far away and beat a retreat; third, it may be that the Stanley Prison is larger, and the prison side is more likely to look after prisoners with a more special background.
According to the CSD’s reply to lawmakers last year, between 2016 and 2018, between 201 and 335 male rehabilitated offenders were transferred from Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to Stanley Prison each year, which the CSD said at the time was aimed at alleviating the overcrowding situation at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre.
However, according to information received by The Apple, Lai Chi Ying is still an unconvicted rehabilitated scabbard offender, so even though he is sent to Stanley Prison, his family and friends should still be able to visit him daily. Lai should also have the right to apply to order meals from a designated approved restaurant, as he did at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a statement Wednesday saying it would put Lai on the Religious Prisoners of Conscience list, demanding that China release Lai and others detained for fighting for human rights, democracy and religious freedom. The statement said that after Lai Chi-ying was arrested at his apartment on Aug. 10 this year on suspicion of violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law and fraud, Hong Kong police arrested him again on Dec. 2 on suspicion of fraud, and the Hong Kong government charged him with “collusion with foreign powers” on Dec. 12, making him the most prominent figure to be prosecuted under Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law. The commission described Lai as being targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for his political activities and public criticism of human rights and religious freedom violations by the Chinese government.
Communist China must immediately release Lai Chi-ying, as well as Wong Chi-fung (former secretary-general of the Hong Kong House of Representatives), Chow Ting (former member of the Hong Kong House of Representatives), and others imprisoned for democracy, human rights and religious freedom,” said Johnnie Moore, chairwoman of the commission. A strong and confident nation does not fear criticism from its citizens, and China’s poor record on human rights and religious freedom is completely inconsistent with its national aspirations. Moore urged the world to unite against China’s brutality, “I am here to stand in solidarity with Lai Chi Ying and others who have suffered similarly.
Stanley Prison is the largest maximum security prison in Hong Kong. It is located at 99 Tung Tau Wan Road, Stanley, South District, Hong Kong Island, and opened in 1937. It is generally used for adult males sentenced to life imprisonment or longer sentences (generally Grade A prisoners with sentences of 12 years or more), with a capacity of about 1,500, and a hospital inside the prison. Those who have been incarcerated in Stanley Prison include not only the most serious offenders such as Yip Jik-hon and Ji Ping-hung, but also well-known tycoons and politicians and businessmen, many of whom are held in solitary confinement to prevent them from being disturbed by other prisoners. Some of the celebrities who have served time in Stanley Prison in recent years and have been released include former Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui, former Sun Hung Kai Properties Co-Chairman Kwok Ping Kong (who allegedly offered bribes to Rafael Hui), and former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
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