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Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang (left) and Yau Wai-ching. Photo: Felix Wong

Legco issues final notice for HK$1.8 million payment from ousted duo

Youngspiration members Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang say they will not pay back the HK$1.86 million

The Legislative Council has demanded that two ousted pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers repay HK$1.86 million in salaries and allowances in two weeks, but the pair have said they will not consider paying the money back.

The Court of Final Appeal on Friday rejected a final bid by Youngspiration members Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang to be reinstated at the Legislative Council. The decision halted their political careers and left them with a massive bill to pay.

Ousted pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers to sit out Legco by-elections

They now face a bill of HK$1.86 million from Legco, on top of HK$12 million in legal fees.

The Legco secretariat confirmed on Tuesday that it had issued letters, by post and email, to both Leung and Yau, asking them to pay back the salaries and allowances in advance.

According to the letter shown by Yau, it stated that it was the “last notification” for them and if they could not return the money on or before September 12, the Legco commission would take legal action.

Each of them is required to return around HK$930,000.

The pair were disqualified by the Court of First Instance after the government filed a legal bid over their anti-Beijing antics during the Legco swearing-in ceremony in October last year.

Ousted Hong Kong lawmaker Yau Wai-ching shows remorse for ‘arrogance and rashness’

Their antics featured anti-China slogans and banners in the Legco chamber. They prompted Beijing to issue an interpretation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, and make such offences punishable by disqualification.

Yau said they saw no grounds for Legco to take legal actions, saying they would reply to the letter and ask for further justifications behind the decision.

The duo, speaking on a radio programme on Monday, already stated that they would not pay the money and they were ready to go bankrupt.

They also made it clear that they would not contest the upcoming by-elections.

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