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Jimmy Lai
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Apple Daily boss Jimmy Lai has case to answer in intimidation trial, Hong Kong court rules

  • Media mogul has been accused of threatening a reporter from a rival newspaper
  • Lai’s lawyers say he will not take the stand and they will not call any defence witnesses

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Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai arrives at West Kowloon Court on Monday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Brian Wong
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has a case to answer for allegedly intimidating a reporter from a rival newspaper three years ago, a court ruled on Monday.

Magistrate May Chung Ming-sun ruled the prosecution had established sufficient evidence to prosecute the Next Digital boss after three days of trial at West Kowloon Court, that started on Thursday.

Lai, 72, has denied criminal intimidation over the exchange with an Oriental Daily reporter during the annual candlelight vigil at Victoria Park on June 4, 2017, commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
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The reporter, who has been granted anonymity by the court, testified on the first day of the trial that he felt threatened when Lai cursed him, and said he would get someone to “mess with” him, after the former took pictures and video of Lai during the event.

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The reporter said he had suffered from adjustment disorder – a condition stemming from stressful events – and depressed mood because of the incident. He said he consulted a psychiatrist thrice and was given antidepressant and sleeping pills.

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Lai’s lawyers have challenged the reporter’s credibility, and suggested he and his company used the incident as an opportunity to “make life difficult” for the media tycoon. They also cast doubt on the psychiatrist’s findings, saying he might not have checked whether the reporter’s claims were true.
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