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Hong Kong national security law
Hong KongPolitics

National security law: ex-opposition lawmaker charged with subversion freed after judge denies appeal of bail, but district councillor to remain behind bars

  • Former Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan was set free on Wednesday, while district councillor Ng Kin-wai saw his bail revoked
  • The duo are among 47 people charged with subversion for staging a primary election alleged to be part of a plot to paralyse the government

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Former lawmaker Helena Wong hugs a supporter outside the High Court after being released on bail on Thursday. Photo: Felix Wong
Brian Wong
A former opposition lawmaker, one of 47 Hong Kong activists charged in the largest crackdown under the national security law to date, was released on Thursday after a judge rejected prosecutors’ appeal of a lower court’s decision to grant her bail.

But the High Court judge sided with the prosecution in a separate appeal against the release of a district councillor prosecuted in the same case.

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan and district councillor Ng Kin-wai were brought before Court of First Instance Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping after their bail was challenged by prosecutors. They were among 11 defendants who saw their jail time extended despite their successful bid for bail after four days of marathon proceedings that ended last Thursday.

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District Councillor Ng Kin-wai’s bail was revoked on Thursday following an appeal by the prosecution. Photo: Facebook
District Councillor Ng Kin-wai’s bail was revoked on Thursday following an appeal by the prosecution. Photo: Facebook

Toh, a judge designated by city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to oversee security law proceedings, said she would hand down her written decisions in due course.

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Wong, who had been held in Tai Lam Correctional Institution for 10 days, was greeted by her husband, scholar Shae Wan-chaw, outside the court’s holding area on Thursday after spending six hours completing the bail procedures.

Recalling her days behind bars, she said: “I was at ease during my remand, because I knew I did not do anything wrong.”

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