Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai cleared of threatening reporter from rival Hong Kong newspaper at June 4 vigil

Magistrate May Chung rules Oriental Daily reporter confronted by Lai was dishonest in testimony, not truly frightened by media mogul’s outburst

‘It appeared [the reporter] was treating it as a joke, or even mocking [Lai]. A person who’s just been alarmed by a threat would not act in this way,’ she says

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Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai navigates a crowd of journalists outside West Kowloon Court on Thursday after being found not guilty of intimidating a reporter from a rival newspaper. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 3:12pm, 3 Sep 2020Updated: 3:11pm, 9 Sep 2020

A Hong Kong magistrate on Wednesday cleared media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying of charges of intimidating a reporter from a rival newspaper, ruling the journalist had been dishonest about the 2017 encounter and appeared unconcerned in video footage of the incident.

In acquitting the Apple Daily founder, Magistrate May Chung Ming-sun at West Kowloon Court accepted the defence counsel’s argument that Lai had an “instinctive outburst” when confronting the Oriental Daily reporter at the annual June 4 candlelight vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai arrives at West Kowloon Court on Thursday to hear the verdict in his intimidation case. Photo: Winson Wong

Chung said the reporter, rather than looking worried, seemed to laugh off Lai’s remarks in footage of the incident, suggesting that he was not at all frightened by the 72-year-old.

The magistrate rejected the reporter’s testimony that he had only feigned laughter in an attempt to calm Lai down, accusing the journalist of being dishonest and taking him to task for what she characterised as an evasive attitude in answering questions about the exchange.

“It appeared [the reporter] was treating it as a joke, or even mocking [Lai],” Chung said. “A person who’s just been alarmed by a threat would not act in this way.”