7 h. ago Another Hong Kong homeowner convicted over illegal structures, fined HK$150,000

Another homeowner in Redhill Peninsula has been found guilty of carrying out unauthorised building works and fined HK$150,000 (US$19,230), marking the 12th conviction after Hong Kong authorities’ crackdown on illegal construction. The owner of a detached home in the private housing estate on Hong Kong Island pleaded guilty at Eastern Court on Friday to knowingly undertaking building works without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department. “Investigations found that the owner of...

Events

31 h. ago Hong Kong father suspected of murdering his 2 children has depression: court

A Hong Kong father who allegedly killed his two young children before a failed suicide attempt last month is suffering from depression, a court has heard. Salesman Chen Guocheng, 40, appeared in Kowloon City Court for the first time on Friday to face two counts of murder, as prosecutors asked for a 12-week adjournment for police to conduct further inquiries. A psychiatric report issued by Queen Elizabeth Hospital found Chen to be suicidal but fit to attend hearings, the court heard. Deputy...

Events

31 h. ago Hong Kong father suspected of murdering his children has depression, court hears

A Hong Kong father who allegedly killed his two young children before a failed suicide attempt last month is suffering from depression, a court has heard. Salesman Chen Guocheng, 40, appeared in Kowloon City Court for the first time on Friday to face two counts of murder, as prosecutors asked for a 12-week adjournment to allow police to conduct further inquiries. A psychiatric report issued by Queen Elizabeth Hospital found Chen to be suicidal but fit to attend hearings, the court heard. Deputy...

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3 d. ago Hong Kong court orders Foodpanda to pay HK$1.3 million to rider injured in storm

A Hong Kong court has ordered on-demand food delivery platform Foodpanda to pay more than HK$1.3 million (US$167,000) in compensation to a worker who injured himself during a tropical storm five years ago, ruling that the company failed to ensure the employee’s safety in extreme weather. The High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Farooq Ahmed Khan after finding his former employer had exposed him to an unnecessary risk of injury due to the absence of a safe working protocol. Khan, 53, was...

Events

3 d. ago Hong Kong court orders arrest of talent scheme applicant who lied about degree

A Hong Kong court has ordered the arrest of a mainland Chinese talent scheme applicant who jumped bail while facing prosecution for allegedly lying about his qualifications. Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong on Wednesday signed a warrant for the arrest of Che Yuyi after the 30-year-old twice failed to appear in Sha Tin Court to answer a charge of making a false statement to the Immigration Department in October 2023. The magistrate also ordered the confiscation of the defendant’s...

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5 d. ago Hong Kong police inspector spared jail time for running red light, causing injury

A Hong Kong court has spared a police inspector from jail for driving through a red light and causing serious injuries to a pedestrian two years ago, highlighting his “excellent” services in the force and remorse for the crime. The District Court on Monday sentenced Iu San-san to 240 hours of community service and disqualified him from driving for two years, after the presiding judge found the case was much less serious than similar precedents that resulted in jail time. The court convicted the...

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong police inspector spared jail for running red light, causing injury

A Hong Kong court has spared a police inspector from jail for driving through a red light and causing serious injuries to a pedestrian two years ago, highlighting his “excellent” service record and remorse for the crime. The District Court on Monday sentenced Iu San-san to 240 hours of community service and disqualified him from driving for two years, after the presiding judge found the case was much less serious than similar precedents that resulted in jail time. The court convicted the...

Events

8 d. ago Key takeaways from Jimmy Lai’s national security trial and what comes next

After more than 1,700 days in custody and a trial that spanned more than 1½ years, former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is now waiting for a verdict to be delivered in his marathon national security trial. The 77-year-old businessman turned opposition activist, who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid, is the most prominent figure yet to be prosecuted under the Beijing-decreed national security law. Western politicians have repeatedly condemned his prosecution as an attack on press...

Events

9 d. ago Trial of Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai ends after 1½ years, with verdict at later date

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s marathon national security trial has come to a close after more than 1½ years, with the judges expected to hand down their verdict before mid-November. After sitting for 156 days, the curtain came down on Thursday on the Apple Daily tabloid founder’s trial, following a decision by the three presiding High Court judges on how to handle certain evidence immaterial to determining guilt in the high-profile case. Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping, who...

Politics

1 week ago Jimmy Lai’s lawyers ask Hong Kong judges to discard testimony of ‘serial liar’

Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s lawyers have asked Hong Kong judges hearing his national security trial to discard prosecutors’ evidence that the tabloid founder devised an anti-China lobbying strategy, saying the witness making the allegation was an “admitted serial liar”. Defence lawyers on Wednesday wrapped up their closing arguments at West Kowloon Court for the former media boss’s national security trial, in which Lai is contesting charges of conspiracy to print seditious articles and collude with...

Events

1 week ago Woman, 19, charged in ‘Hong Kong Parliament’ subversion case denied bail

A 19-year-old woman has been denied bail after appearing in court on a sedition charge for allegedly encouraging Hong Kong residents to vote on setting up an overseas-based group deemed subversive by authorities. Lan Fei was denied bail on Tuesday by Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak, who told her at West Kowloon Court: “I find that there are no sufficient grounds to believe that you will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.” Lan has been charged with one count of “doing...

Politics

1 week ago Media misled Hong Kong public on extradition bill, judge in Jimmy Lai trial says

A judge hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has argued that the media misled Hong Kong residents into opposing a now-withdrawn extradition bill at the outset of the 2019 anti-government protests. A brief political debate ensued at West Kowloon Court upon the resumption of defence closing submissions in the trial of the Apple Daily founder on Tuesday, in which lawyers sought to justify the newspaper’s unfavourable portrayal of the proposed legal amendment as promoting public...

Events

1 week ago Jimmy Lai trial: judge questions defence’s understanding of Hong Kong security law

A judge has argued that an interpretation of Hong Kong’s national security law by Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s defence team may not reflect Beijing’s true intentions, after the former media boss’ lawyers argued that the legislation did not penalise calls for sanctions against select Chinese officials. Lai’s lawyers on Monday argued that a strict literal approach was necessary to decipher the Beijing-imposed legislation as they resumed presenting verbal arguments at West Kowloon Court for the close of...

Events

2 w. ago Jimmy Lai trial: Hong Kong judge dismisses freedom of expression defence

A Hong Kong judge hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has dismissed the defence’s contention that the former media boss was just exercising his right to freedom of expression with his anti-China comments, citing crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests in the West. A protracted debate at West Kowloon Court on the proper reading of Lai’s allegedly offensive statements took a turn on Friday when one of three presiding High Court judges hit out at lawyers’ “la-di-da” defence...

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2 w. ago Hong Kong judges, Jimmy Lai’s lawyers lock horns over ‘armchair punditry’

Lawyers for former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying have argued that his “armchair punditry” did not support prosecutors’ contention that he masterminded a conspiracy to instigate Western sanctions, prompting a judge to note that his comments could be interpreted as “disguised requests”. Lai’s lawyers and the three presiding judges hearing his national security trial found themselves entangled in a recurring debate on the interpretation of allegedly incriminating remarks made by the...

Society

2 w. ago Hong Kong court challenges Jimmy Lai’s rights claims in national security trial

Two Hong Kong judges hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial have expressed reservations about the defence characterising the former media boss’s alleged endeavours to trigger Western sanctions and foster hatred towards authorities as a legitimate exercise of fundamental rights. The 77-year-old Apple Daily tabloid founder’s legal team on Wednesday started presenting its closing arguments at West Kowloon Court after the prosecution made their final remarks in his case of...

Events

2 w. ago Jimmy Lai used false Beijing portrayal to urge West to act, Hong Kong court hears

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying deliberately fabricated a negative image of Beijing to create an excuse for Western interference, prosecutors have said, accusing him of having a “resolute” intent to press on with his efforts even after the national security law took effect five years ago. West Kowloon Court on Tuesday resumed hearing the prosecution’s closing remarks in the marathon national security trial of the Apple Daily founder, who is contesting three conspiracy counts of...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong court jails man for 4 years for planning bomb attack on police

A 20-year-old has been sentenced to four years in prison for planning to make bombs to attack Hong Kong police after the memorial service of a university student who died during the 2019 anti-government protests. Deputy District Judge Don So Man-lung said on Tuesday that the case was serious due to the nature of Srisanga Hon-wing’s intentions. “Hong Kong is densely populated, and fires often cause serious injuries and property damage. The court must impose a severe sentence; otherwise, there...

Events

3 w. ago Hong Kong court postpones Jimmy Lai’s trial over health issues

Former Hong Kong media owner Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has been adjourned until Monday after judges expressed concerns about his heart issue that arose shortly before closing submission proceedings. The Apple Daily founder’s health condition was brought to the attention of West Kowloon Court on Friday, just as the three presiding High Court judges were about to hear closing speeches from prosecutors and defence lawyers in his case of conspiracies to publish seditious articles...

Events

3 w. ago Hong Kong court postpones Jimmy Lai’s trial over heart condition

Former Hong Kong media owner Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has been adjourned until Monday after judges expressed concerns about his heart issue that arose shortly before closing submission proceedings. The Apple Daily founder’s health condition was brought to the attention of West Kowloon Court on Friday, just as the three presiding High Court judges were about to hear closing speeches from prosecutors and defence lawyers in his case of conspiracies to publish seditious articles...

Events