Ousted Hong Kong lawmaker Edward Yiu avoids having to pay legal bill of almost HK$1 million
Judge alters earlier ruling on oath-taking saga, saying that since the former opposition politician was safeguarding those who voted for him, it would be reasonable for him to resist having to foot hefty legal fee
A Hong Kong court on Thursday spared an ousted lawmaker from having to pay a legal bill expected to amount to almost HK$1 million (US$128,000) that the government had spent to unseat him last year.
In an unexpected footnote to the government’s successful bids against six opposition lawmakers, one of them, Edward Yiu Chung-yim, prevailed on Thursday for the first time.
A scholar-turned-politician, Yiu was previously ordered by the High Court to pay part of an estimated HK$3 million (US$383,000) legal bill incurred during the disqualifying challenge the government brought to unseat four of the six lawmakers in 2017.
But on Thursday, Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung altered his earlier ruling, saying Yiu no longer had to pay the sum.
While the loser usually pays winner’s legal costs, Au said it was reasonable for Yiu to think that he would have grounds to resist the government’s request to have him disqualified.