Hong Kong internet radio host facing money-laundering, sedition charges denied bail over Taiwan connections, High Court judge says
- Judge says earlier rejection of Edmund Wan’s bail application was based on him posing an ‘extremely high’ risk of absconding, points to apparent Taiwan links
- Wan, 52, is to stand trial on five counts each of sedition and money laundering
An internet radio personality facing sedition and money-laundering charges failed to secure bail after a judge found he posed an “extremely high” risk of absconding given his connections in Taiwan, Hong Kong’s judiciary has revealed.
In a judgment published on the judiciary website on Thursday, High Court Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping explained her decision in March to deny bail to Edmund Wan Yiu-sing, accused of financing fugitives and hosting shows to incite revolt against Beijing and the Hong Kong government.
In two other written rulings, Toh said she had refused similar applications made by former lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and district councillor Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, both of whom were charged with subversion under the national security law, as she feared they would continue to be a threat should they be released.
No reasons for bail decisions can, as a general rule, be spelled out by the media due to statutory restrictions on reporting bail proceedings, but Toh permitted coverage of her judgments upon application from several media outlets, including the Post.
The three judgments released on Thursday were part of a wider set of documents involving bail decisions, which were uploaded to the judiciary website given the large amount of public interest in proceedings involving the national security law.