Fugitive tycoon Joseph Lau wins permission to hire top British human rights lawyer David Pannick in court fight against controversial Hong Kong extradition bill
- Pannick, who specialises in public law, has also represented Hong Kong government in a number of high-profile constitutional cases
- Lau, jailed in absentia for more than five years in Macau, lodged a judicial challenge against the government in April
Property tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung, who was convicted in Macau for his part in a massive bribes-for-land scandal five years ago, got the green light to appoint David Pannick QC after his local lawyers told the High Court the government’s law amendments were of great public interest.
Pannick, who specialises in public law, has represented the Hong Kong government in a number of high-profile constitutional cases.
If the contentious bill passes, Lau, 67, could face extradition to Macau to serve a jail term.
Lau, former chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings, lodged a judicial challenge against the government in April, after it revealed its plan to amend fugitive laws to allow the case-by-case transfer of suspects with places Hong Kong lacks an extradition deal with, including mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.