Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai wins appeal in fraud case

Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years' jail earlier in February on collusion charges under Hong Kong's national security law. 

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai won an appeal on Thursday (Feb 26) over a 2022 fraud conviction, days after a court jailed him on separate national security charges.

The ruling was a surprise win for Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars this month on collusion charges under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

The fraud case grew out of a contractual dispute and was unrelated to the charges he faced under the security law.

Lai did not appear in court and remains behind bars.

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"(We) allow the appeals, quash the convictions and set aside the sentences," High Court Chief Judge Jeremy Poon said, adding that he granted Lai's application to be excused.

In 2022, Lai received a jail sentence of five years and nine months over what the trial judge called a "planned, organised and years-long" scheme.

Prosecutors said at trial that a consultancy firm Lai operated for his personal use had taken up office space that Apple Daily had rented for the purposes of publication and printing.

This was in breach of the terms of the lease Apple Daily signed with a government company and amounted to fraud, prosecutors said.

Defence lawyers argued at the time that the case should have been a civil suit instead of a criminal prosecution, adding that the square footage involved was minimal.

Former Apple Daily executive Wong Wai-keung was also charged in the same case and jailed for 21 months.

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