Hong Kong appeals court overturns Jimmy Lai's fraud conviction

"The judges at the Court of Appeal wrote in their judgement that while Apple Daily Printing had breached the lease terms by allowing the firm to use part of the space, it didn't owe a duty to disclose its breach. They said even if it had owed and breached that duty, the same could not be attributed to Lai and Wong as a matter of law."

"[We] allow the appeals, quash the convictions and set aside the sentences, the judges wrote. The conviction that was overturned was from an earlier fraud case in which prosecutors alleged that a consultancy firm operated by Lai, 78, for his personal use had taken up office space that his now defunct media business Apple Daily rented for publication and printing purposes."

Hong Kong's Court of First Instance overturned a fraud conviction against pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai and co-defendant Wong Wai-keung. The original case involved allegations that Lai's consultancy firm improperly used office space rented by his media company Apple Daily, breaching lease terms with a government company. Lai had been sentenced to five years and nine months in 2022. The appellate judges determined that while Apple Daily Printing breached the lease, it had no duty to disclose the breach, and even if it had, liability could not be attributed to Lai and Wong as a matter of law. The ruling slightly reduces Lai's total prison time, as his national security conviction sentences will partially overlap with the fraud sentence.

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