Hong Kong’s High Court has delivered a landmark ruling, sentencing former media magnate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years imprisonment under the city’s National Security Law. The verdict concludes one of the most significant legal proceedings since the legislation’s implementation.
A three-judge national security panel comprising Esther Toh Lye-ping, D’Almada Remedios, and Alex Lee Wan-tang determined the sentence following Lai’s December conviction on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials. The court emphasized the serious nature of offenses involving foreign entities endangering national security, stating such actions warrant severe penalties according to legislative intent.
The judicial panel addressed multiple considerations in their sentencing rationale. Notably, the court ruled that 18 years of the national security sentence will run consecutively with Lai’s previous 5-year, 9-month fraud conviction from December 2022, which involved unrelated matters of a completely different nature.
Regarding health considerations, the court acknowledged Lai had received appropriate medical attention during detention but declined to reduce his sentence on medical grounds, noting such considerations rarely justify sentence reduction in cases involving grave offenses. The judgment reinforces the judiciary’s firm stance on upholding national security legislation while maintaining procedural rigor throughout the legal process.