Update | Hong Kong reporters targeted for contempt of court
Lawsuit over coverage of murder case had originally named two newspaper editors
A lawsuit against two newspapers alleging contempt of court over coverage of a murder case took a new turn yesterday as Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung asked the High Court to extend it to two reporters, in addition to two editors.
In a High Court writ, Yuen asked that reporters Luk Yu-ping and Law Yat-sing be jailed or fined for contempt of court. Yuen is asking the court for permission to lodge the application.
On July 30 Yuen filed an application against Apple Daily editor Cheung Kim-hung and Sharp Daily editor Li Pang-kay and the two papers for their roles in the coverage of a "double homicide" case.
According to the writ available yesterday, Yuen said the two reporters were guilty of contempt for "publishing, causing or permitting to be published or being responsible for or having played a significant role" in the publication of an article and a video.
A finding of contempt of court can result from publication of any material deemed likely to jeopardise a fair trial.
The court documents have not identified the articles published apart from saying they ran on March 20 and related to a "double homicide" case.
Both newspapers had an exclusive interview with Henry Chau Hoi-leung, 29, who in March was accused with his friend, Tse Chun-Kei, 35, of murdering and dismembering his parents at Tse's Tai Kok Tsui apartment.