A Hong Kong court yesterday found media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai (黎智英) not guilty of criminal intimidation, ending one of several cases against him after his arrest last month under the territory’s new National Security Law.
The verdict was for a case from 2017 and was unrelated to his arrest last month.
Lai, who is a critic of Beijing, had used foul language when confronting a reporter from the Oriental Daily News, a competitor to Lai’s Apple Daily.
Photo: AFP
However, police only charged him in February.
The mainland-born media magnate had pleaded not guilty.
Hong Kong Magistrate May Chung (鍾明新) told the court that she found insufficient evidence to support allegations that Lai meant to harm the reporter during the 2017 incident.
Lai appeared to be acting out of impulse, anger and frustration, Chung said, adding that she did not accept that the reporter was frightened by his words.
Lai smiled after the verdict was read out and shook hands with supporters who filled the courtroom.
His case comes after he was arrested on Aug. 10 for alleged collusion with foreign forces, making him the highest-profile person to be arrested under the Beijing-imposed legislation.
The 71-year-old had been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he met officials, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a “traitor.”
After Lai’s arrest last month, about 200 police officers searched the Apple Daily offices.
The national security legislation punishes anything that China considers subversion, succession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Lai’s Apple Daily has vied with the Oriental Daily News for readership in the territory. In 2014, the Oriental Daily News published a fake obituary of Lai, claiming that he had died of AIDS and many types of cancer.
Prosecutors in the case said that Lai had intimidated the Oriental Daily News reporter.
Lai’s lawyers said that he had been followed by reporters for three years and his comments were not intended to harm the reporter, but to express his exasperation.
Lai is also facing separate court cases for illegal assembly relating to anti-government protests last year.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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