A Hong Kong court sentenced the tycoon this Saturday jimmy lai a five years and nine months in jail for fraud against a government company for allowing a consulting firm to operate without permission in the offices of the opposition newspaper he founded, the Apple Dailyreported local media.
The court of the territory further fined Lai with 2 million Hong Kong dollars (US$256,888) and prohibited managing companies for eight years.
The court concluded last October that Lai, 75, “deliberately” concealed the company’s operations. Dico Consultants in the premises of the now defunct newspaper.
According to the court, the tycoon, who is already in prison for organize and participate in anti-government protests unauthorized, violated the rental agreement of the offices of the Apple Dailywhich included a clause prohibiting its use for activities unrelated to newspaper or magazine publishing and printing.
The judge ruled that Lai had an obligation to ensure that all subsidiary companies operating on the property complied with the requirements of the company that owns the facility.
The consultant dico began operating at the offices of Apple Daily in 1998, where it continued operations until mid-2020, the Hong Kong daily reported. South China Morning Post.
The founder of the opposition newspaper Apple Daily is in a maximum security prison in Hong Kong, where another awaits trial for “conspiracy” due to the controversy National Security Law imposed by Beijing, which took effect on June 30, 2020, a year after an anti-government protest movement rocked the semi-autonomous city.
Said law punishes up to life imprisonment “secession” or “collusion with foreign forces”.
Last October, USA criticized the fraud conviction of Hong Kong media mogul, jimmy laiand warned that the protection of human rights on Chinese territory is deteriorating, as is respect for the freedom of the press.
US State Department spokesman ned pricesaid Washington deplored Lai’s conviction on “spurious fraud charges” and warned that such efforts to stifle freedom of the press they undermine the Chinese regime’s international obligations to uphold the territory’s high degree of autonomy, but also damage its credibility as a business hub.
“We urge the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to restore respect for press freedom in Hong Kong”Price added in a statement.
(With information from EFE)
Keep reading:
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Hong Kong Sentenced Media Mogul Jimmy Lai For Fraud: US Criticized Sentencing
Source-www.infobae.com