China: Pro-democracy tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai wins appeal in fraud conviction
The case arises out of a contract dispute and is unrelated to the other charges against Lai under the national security law, for which he was sentenced this month to 20 years in prison on charges of colluding with foreign forces.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai.
Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media entrepreneur from Hong Kong, won an appeal Thursday in a fraud conviction, just days after he was sentenced to prison in another national security-related trial.
The ruling was a surprise victory for Lai, 78, founder of the defunct Apple Daily newspaper, who was sentenced this month to 20 years in prison on charges of colluding with foreign forces under a national security law imposed by the Asian giant.
World
China: Justice sentences pro-democracy tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison
Williams Perdomo
Lai remains jailed
The fraud case arises after a contract dispute and is unrelated to the charges against Lai under the national security law. Lai did not go to court and remains jailed for the time being.
"We allowed the appeals, deleted the convictions and dismissed the sentences," said Judge Jeremy Poon, head of the high court.
The Department of Justice of the semi-autonomous region announced that it will carefully analyze the ruling "to evaluate the possibility of filing an appeal," a government spokesman said after learning of the decision.
It is not yet known how Thursday's decision will influence the total time Lai will have to spend in prison.
Anatomy of a trial
According to the prosecution, such use of the premises violated the terms of the lease signed with a state-owned company and constituted a fraudulent act.
Lai's defense argued at the time that the matter should be treated as civil and not criminal litigation, and that the area involved was minimal.
On the other hand, the two-decade sentence imposed on Lai was by far the harshest handed down under the national security law that Beijing implemented in Hong Kong in 2020 following massive pro-democracy protests in the former British colony.
LATEST
