Hong Kong's Court of Appeal on Feb 26 delivered a surprise ruling, setting aside a previous conviction and sentence handed to Jimmy Lai in a fraud matter. The appellate court concluded that the trial judge had "erred" in the handling of the case, overturning the lower court's decision.
The development arrives in the wake of an earlier sentencing, in which Lai was given a combined term of 20 years behind bars after being convicted on separate national security-related charges - specifically two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count for publishing seditious materials. Lai, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has consistently entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against him.
This article sets out the court's recent decision and then presents a chronology of the principal milestones in Lai's long-running legal and corporate troubles, as recorded in court actions and company developments.
Key judicial development
On Feb 26 the Court of Appeal determined that the earlier ruling in the fraud case was unsafe because the trial judge had made an error in law or procedure. The effect of the decision was to overturn the earlier conviction and the prison sentence that accompanied it.
This appellate decision should be understood alongside the separate, earlier security-related convictions and sentences that together have placed Lai in long-term custody. Those prior convictions culminated in a 20-year jail term returned by the court on Feb 9.
Timeline of principal events
- June 20, 1995 - Lai publishes the first edition of Apple Daily.
- June 12, 2019 - Hundreds of thousands take to the streets in pro-democracy protests and police fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds.
- June 30, 2020 - China imposes a national security law (NSL) on Hong Kong; crimes such as subversion or collusion with foreign forces could be punished with terms of up to life imprisonment.
- Aug 10 - Lai is arrested under the NSL over alleged "collusion with foreign forces" as 200 police raid his corporate and media headquarters. He is released on bail.
- Dec 3 - Lai is taken into custody after being denied bail on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of the headquarters of his listed firm Next Digital.
- Dec 11 - Lai is charged under the NSL for allegedly colluding with foreign forces.
- Dec 23 - Lai is granted bail.
- Dec 29 - Lai resigns as chairman of Next Digital.
- Dec 31 - Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal orders Lai back into custody, saying a judge erred in granting bail.
- April 16, 2021 - Lai is jailed for 14 months for taking part in an unauthorised assembly during a demonstration in August 2019.
- May 14 - Lai's listed company faces mounting pressure, including a freeze on its assets, leading to its shutdown.
- May 28 - Lai is handed a second 14-month jail sentence, this time for taking part in an unauthorised assembly on October 1, 2019.
- June 17 - Police arrest five executives from Apple Daily, as 500 police officers raid and search its newsroom, seizing computers.
- June 20 - Apple Daily marks its 26th anniversary.
- June 24 - Apple Daily prints 1 million copies of its final edition, 10 times its normal print run.
- Sept 29 - Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan presents a petition to the Court of First Instance to wind up Next Digital.
- Dec 13 - Lai is sentenced to 13 months in jail for taking part in a banned vigil for victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
- July 30, 2022 - Secretary of Justice Paul Lam orders Lai's trial be heard without a jury, citing the "involvement of foreign factors" and a "real risk that the due administration of justice might be impaired."
- Nov 22 - Six former Apple Daily staffers plead guilty to conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces.
- Nov 28 - Hong Kong leader John Lee asks Beijing to rule on its bid to block foreign lawyers from working on national security cases, after the top court rules that British lawyer Tim Owen could represent Lai.
- Dec 1 - High Court postpones Lai's security trial to December 13, pending a decision from Beijing on whether Owen can defend him.
- Dec 10 - Lai is sentenced to five years and nine months on a fraud charge linked to Next Digital's lease.
- Dec 30 - China's top lawmaking body, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, gives Lee, the Hong Kong leader, the power to bar lawyers without the right to practise in Hong Kong from national security cases. The move effectively bars Owen from defending Lai.
- May 19, 2023 - Hong Kong's High Court dismisses an attempt by Lai to challenge the ruling on legal representation.
- May 29 - Hong Kong's High Court rejects an application to terminate the security trial against Lai.
- Aug 18 - During a pre-trial review, Lai's trial is further postponed until December 18.
- Dec 18 - Lai's national security trial begins.
- Jan 2, 2024 - Lai pleads not guilty to the charges.
- Nov 20 - Lai begins testifying, saying he never tried to influence the foreign policy of the U.S. and other countries towards China and Hong Kong.
- March 6, 2025 - Lai finishes his testimony.
- Aug 15 - Closing submissions are delayed after Lai suffers heart palpitations, prompting authorities to provide medication and a heart monitor.
- Aug 28 - Closing submissions for Lai's national security trial end, bringing the 156-day trial to a close.
- Oct 30 - U.S. President Donald Trump raises Lai's case in a meeting with China's leader Xi Jinping.
- Dec 15 - A guilty verdict is handed down.
- Feb 9 - Hong Kong's court sentences Lai to 20 years in jail.
- Feb 26 - Lai's fraud conviction and prison sentence are overturned, in a surprise legal decision.
What the record shows
The chronological record assembled above highlights a sequence of legal steps, corporate pressure, and courtroom developments that have unfolded around Jimmy Lai and his media business. The record documents the imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong, multiple arrests and convictions for Lai on charges ranging from participation in unauthorised assemblies to national security offences, the detention and prosecution of Apple Daily staff, asset restrictions and a petition to wind up the listed Next Digital company, and high-level interventions over legal representation in national security trials.
Among the procedural highlights, the decision by the Secretary of Justice to have Lai's trial heard without a jury and the National People's Congress Standing Committee's empowerment of Hong Kong's leader to bar non-Hong Kong-qualified lawyers from security cases are set out explicitly in the court record. The appellate reversal on Feb 26 relates specifically to the fraud conviction and sentence and is the latest development in a larger, complex legal saga.
Summary
The Court of Appeal has overturned a fraud conviction and associated prison sentence against Jimmy Lai on the grounds that the trial judge erred. The ruling arrives after Lai had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison on separate national security-related convictions. Lai has pleaded not guilty in the matters summarised above. The timeline herein sets out the major dates and judicial actions involved in the case and associated corporate and media developments.
Key points
- Hong Kong's Court of Appeal overturned Lai's fraud conviction on Feb 26, finding error by the trial judge - a direct judicial correction in a high-profile case.
- Lai has already received a 20-year sentence on separate convictions related to national security offences, including two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count for publishing seditious materials, and he pleaded not guilty to those charges.
- Corporate and media consequences documented in the record include asset freezes on Next Digital, police raids and arrests at Apple Daily, a petition to wind up Next Digital, and the newspaper's closure and final print run.
Risks and uncertainties
- Legal uncertainty - Ongoing and complex legal proceedings, including appellate decisions and special arrangements for trial procedures, create uncertainty for the parties involved and for related corporate entities such as Next Digital.
- Corporate and financial pressure - The documented freezing of assets and petition to wind up Next Digital demonstrate a risk to shareholders, creditors, and business continuity for media-related entities.
- Restrictions on legal representation - The legislative and executive steps that empowered Hong Kong authorities to restrict non-local lawyers from national security cases present uncertainty around defence representation in such trials.
Tags
HongKong, Legal, Media, NationalSecurity, Corporate