Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai charged with fraud along with two Next Digital executives, but no national security law crimes
- The Apple Daily boss was arrested in August in a high-profile operation that saw scores of police raid his Tseung Kwan O offices
- He was also alleged at the time to have colluded with foreign forces, but was not charged under the city’s national security law on Wednesday
The Next Digital founder, who is expected to be detained overnight, arrived at Mong Kok Police Station at about 12.52pm, before meeting his legal representatives in the lobby. He told waiting reporters he was “not going to think about that now” when asked about the possibility of being remanded in custody.
A pair of senior executives from Next Digital, which owns the Apple Daily newspaper, were also charged with fraud after reporting to the Western and Tsuen Wan police stations, respectively.
The two are Royston Chow Tat-kuen, the company’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, and chief administrative officer Wong Wai-keung.
All three are accused of breaching land-lease terms by improperly using Next Digital’s office space in Tseung Kwan O. They are expected to appear in West Kowloon Court on Thursday.
Lai, Chow and Wong were arrested in a high-profile police operation that saw more than 200 officers raid the Next Digital offices on August 10.
During the same operation, Lai’s eldest son, Timothy Lai Kin-yang, 42, was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Cheung Kim-hung, CEO of Next Digital, was also detained over the same offence, along with the company’s animation director, Ng Tat-kong.
Both Lai and Chow were additionally alleged to have colluded with foreign forces to endanger national security at the time. Lai’s son Ian Lai Yiu-yan was also arrested on that basis.