https://www.scmp.com/rss/522609/feed The latest news and top stories on Esther Toh Lye-ping. A Madam Justice of the High Court of Hong Kong, she is a designated judge for national security law cases. Born in Singapore, she was called to the English and Hong Kong Bars in the mid-1970s, entering private practice before becoming a District Judge in 1997. Elevated to the Court of First Instance in 2012, her work involves presiding over high-profile national security trials, notably Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's. She has made significant bail... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Brian Wong Brian Wong Hong Kong’s High Court jailed former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for 20 years on Monday for national security crimes, in what mainland Chinese authorities described as a “powerful declaration” that severe punishment awaited those who dared to challenge the law. In the toughest punishment to date under the city’s national security law, Lai is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty earlier on two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces and a third of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:36:34 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong court will sentence former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his associates on Monday for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in violation of the national security law. Three High Court judges who oversaw Lai’s high-profile trial are expected to hand down penalties on the 78-year-old defendant at 10am, according to the judiciary website. The justices, hand-picked by the city leader to adjudicate national security cases, will also sentence six former senior executives of Lai’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342589/jimmy-lai-sentencing-set-monday-hong-kong-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342589/jimmy-lai-sentencing-set-monday-hong-kong-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 02:46:41 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A former senior executive of the now-defunct Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily regrets not standing firmly by her journalistic principles against the editorial interference of her ex-boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, her lawyer has told a court hearing. Three High Court judges adjourned the sentencing of Lai and eight others until an unspecified date after defence lawyers wrapped up their mitigation arguments at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday. Appeals for leniency were made on behalf of five former senior... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339727/executive-hong-kongs-apple-daily-regrets-not-standing-ex-boss-jimmy-lai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339727/executive-hong-kongs-apple-daily-regrets-not-standing-ex-boss-jimmy-lai?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 08:13:05 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Hong Kong judges in Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial have questioned whether the former media boss is entitled to a reduced sentence on health or custodial grounds, citing records showing he is in a stable condition and had requested solitary confinement of his own free will. The three High Court justices on Monday began hearing arguments on the length of the sentences to be handed down to the Apple Daily founder and eight others. The other defendants pleaded guilty before Lai’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339630/hong-kong-judges-doubtful-if-jimmy-lais-health-justifies-sentence-reduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339630/hong-kong-judges-doubtful-if-jimmy-lais-health-justifies-sentence-reduction?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:39:09 +0000 Brian Wong,Connor Mycroft,Jess Ma Brian Wong,Connor Mycroft,Jess Ma Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has returned to West Kowloon Court alongside eight co-defendants, as three judges hear mitigation arguments from defence lawyers in his high-profile national security case on Monday. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily is the most prominent figure yet to be convicted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020. Last month, he was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339524/jimmy-lai-trial-hong-kong-judges-hear-mitigation-arguments-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3339524/jimmy-lai-trial-hong-kong-judges-hear-mitigation-arguments-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 01:32:21 +0000 Emily Hung Emily Hung Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s “rabid hatred” of the Communist Party of China has led him down a “thorny path”, according to the judges who found him guilty on three counts of national security offences. The 855-page full judgment released on Monday started with the “rags-to-riches” success story of Lai, but was overshadowed by criticism, particularly regarding the credibility of his evidence. Born in Guangzhou in 1947, Lai smuggled himself into Hong Kong at the age of 12,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3336529/jimmy-lais-rabid-hatred-party-led-him-down-thorny-path-hong-kong-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3336529/jimmy-lais-rabid-hatred-party-led-him-down-thorny-path-hong-kong-court?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:19:37 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s lawyers have asked Hong Kong judges hearing his national security trial to discard prosecutors’ evidence that the tabloid founder devised an anti-China lobbying strategy, saying the witness making the allegation was an “admitted serial liar”. Defence lawyers on Wednesday wrapped up their closing arguments at West Kowloon Court for the former media boss’s national security trial, in which Lai is contesting charges of conspiracy to print seditious articles and collude with... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323369/jimmy-lais-lawyers-ask-hong-kong-judges-discard-testimony-serial-liar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323369/jimmy-lais-lawyers-ask-hong-kong-judges-discard-testimony-serial-liar?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:00:56 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A judge hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has argued that the media misled Hong Kong residents into opposing a later-withdrawn extradition bill that triggered the 2019 anti-government protests. A brief political debate ensued at West Kowloon Court upon the resumption of the defence’s closing submissions in the trial of the Apple Daily founder on Tuesday, in which lawyers sought to justify the newspaper’s unfavourable portrayal of the proposed legal amendment as promoting... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323172/media-misled-hong-kong-public-extradition-bill-judge-jimmy-lai-trial-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323172/media-misled-hong-kong-public-extradition-bill-judge-jimmy-lai-trial-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 07:38:29 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A judge has argued that an interpretation of Hong Kong’s national security law by Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s defence team may not reflect Beijing’s true intentions, after the former media boss’ lawyers argued that the legislation did not penalise calls for sanctions against select Chinese officials. Lai’s lawyers on Monday argued that a strict literal approach was necessary to decipher the Beijing-imposed legislation as they resumed presenting verbal arguments at West Kowloon Court for the close of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323092/jimmy-lai-trial-judge-questions-defences-understanding-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3323092/jimmy-lai-trial-judge-questions-defences-understanding-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 10:50:51 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A Hong Kong judge hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has dismissed the defence’s contention that the former media boss was just exercising his right to freedom of expression with his anti-China comments, citing crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests in the West. A protracted debate at West Kowloon Court on the proper reading of Lai’s allegedly offensive statements took a turn on Friday when one of three presiding High Court judges hit out at lawyers’ “la-di-da” defence... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322870/jimmy-lai-trial-hong-kong-judge-dismisses-freedom-expression-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322870/jimmy-lai-trial-hong-kong-judge-dismisses-freedom-expression-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:12:34 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Lawyers for former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying have argued that his “armchair punditry” did not support prosecutors’ contention that he masterminded a conspiracy to instigate Western sanctions, prompting a judge to note that his comments could be interpreted as “disguised requests”. Lai’s lawyers and the three presiding judges hearing his national security trial found themselves entangled in a recurring debate on the interpretation of allegedly incriminating remarks made by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322699/hong-kong-judges-jimmy-lais-lawyers-lock-horns-over-armchair-punditry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322699/hong-kong-judges-jimmy-lais-lawyers-lock-horns-over-armchair-punditry?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:47:04 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Two Hong Kong judges hearing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial have expressed reservations about the defence characterising the former media boss’s alleged endeavours to trigger Western sanctions and foster hatred towards authorities as a legitimate exercise of fundamental rights. The 77-year-old Apple Daily tabloid founder’s legal team on Wednesday started presenting its closing arguments at West Kowloon Court after prosecutors made their final remarks in his case of conspiracies to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322553/hong-kong-court-challenges-jimmy-lais-rights-claims-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322553/hong-kong-court-challenges-jimmy-lais-rights-claims-national-security-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:35:27 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying deliberately fabricated a negative image of Beijing to create an excuse for Western interference, prosecutors have said, accusing him of having a “resolute” intent to press on with his efforts even after the national security law took effect five years ago. West Kowloon Court on Tuesday resumed hearing the prosecution’s closing remarks in the marathon national security trial of the Apple Daily founder, who is contesting three conspiracy counts of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322410/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-used-false-beijing-portrayal-urge-west-act-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3322410/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-used-false-beijing-portrayal-urge-west-act-court-hears?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:40:18 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s national security trial has been adjourned until Monday after judges expressed concerns about his heart issue that arose shortly before closing submission proceedings. The Apple Daily founder’s health condition was brought to the attention of West Kowloon Court on Friday, just as the three presiding High Court judges were about to hear closing speeches from prosecutors and defence lawyers in his case of conspiracies to publish seditious articles... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3321941/hong-kong-court-postpones-jimmy-lais-trial-over-health-issues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3321941/hong-kong-court-postpones-jimmy-lais-trial-over-health-issues?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 04:12:58 +0000