Carson Yeung Ka-sing, owner of the English football club Birmingham City, has been given an extra four months to prepare his defence on money-laundering charges involving more than HK$700 million.
His application for an adjournment was allowed yesterday, less than a week after an earlier attempt was dismissed by a judge who accused Yeung of trying to "hijack" the court diary.
District Court Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong ruled that Yeung, who faces five charges, was not trying to delay the trial, which was due to start yesterday.
"On the balance of probabilities and interest of fairness and justice, I find that I should grant the application for adjournment," Yau said.
Yeung based his application on the grounds that he had only recently secured the funds to pay his legal fees.
All his assets were frozen by a court-ordered injunction that was imposed soon after his arrest in June last year.