HK media tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed over five years for fraud

Jimmy Lai, the founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily which was forced to shut down last year, has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail, after being convicted of violating the lease contract of the newspaper’s headquarters.

Lai was found guilty of fraud on 25 October 2022 with multiple reports emerging around his violations of the terms of lease of the newspaper’s headquarters after he was found covering up the operation of a private company Dico Consultants Ltd at the building, according to the Reuters. 

The lease had specified that the premises should be used for printing and publishing newspapers or magazines only, according to HKFP.

According to another report by The Guardian, Lai has been in custody since December 2020, which he has recently completed a 20-month jail term resulting from multiple convictions for his part in protests and unauthorised assemblies. Lai also faces a possible life sentence at his coming trial on national security charges, including allegations of conspiring and colluding with foreign countries, and a sedition offense, according to another report by The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Wong Wai Keung, who was the administrative director of Apple Daily’s parent company Next Digital, was convicted of one count of fraud with regards to the period between 1 January 2016 and 19 May 2020. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. The judge Stanley Chan described the fraud as a “planned, organised and years-long” scheme, said the report.

Back in June last year, Hong Kong government was looking into a local public library displaying books written by media tycoon and funder of Next Digital Jimmy Lai. The issue was raised after lawmaker Cheung Kwok Kwan posted a picture on Facebook of the display featuring several books by Lai, said The Straits Times Singapore.

The government said that if any staff member is found to be involved in the issue, it will consult the relevant departments and handle the matter in a serious manner. “With the promulgation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong Public Libraries must ensure that its collections are in compliance with the relevant law,” it added.

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