Fugitive Hong Kong politician Ted Hui sentenced in absentia to 3½ years’ jail for jumping bail
- High Court judge says Hui has shown no remorse for his actions, which made a mockery of criminal justice system
- Court found Hui guilty of contempt in June for breaching bail conditions and deceiving authorities into returning his passport for a purported official trip
A Hong Kong court has sentenced fugitive politician Ted Hui Chi-fung to 3½ years in prison for jumping bail in cases stemming from his allegedly disruptive conduct in the legislature and involvement in an anti-government protest.
The court found Hui guilty of contempt in June for breaching bail conditions and deceiving authorities into returning his passport for a purported official trip, which turned out to be a smokescreen to secure the 40-year-old former opposition lawmaker’s escape in November 2020.
In Thursday’s written ruling, the judge said the deception was carefully orchestrated to the effect that public confidence in the administration of justice had been greatly undermined.
“The respondent’s actions not only made a mockery of the criminal justice system but also amounted to the commission of the offence of perverting the course of public justice,” Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai said.
Although Hui did not face a charge of perverting the course of justice, Chan said both cases shared similar factual scenarios and the court was entitled to impose an indefinite jail term on those found guilty of contempt.
“As the respondent has [shown] no remorse, for the criminal contempt the respondent has been found to be liable, he is sentenced to [three] years and [six] months imprisonment,” the judge concluded, before ordering Hui to shoulder the justice department’s costs of the present proceedings on an indemnity basis.
