HK media tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed over lease violation

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai received a fresh jail sentence of five years and nine months yesterday after being found guilty of fraud in a contractual dispute.

Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, had recently completed a 20-month jail term resulting from multiple convictions for his part in protests and unauthorised assemblies.

He also faces a possible life sentence at his upcoming trial on national security charges.

While the earlier convictions were related to his role in the huge democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019, the latest case involved one of his companies violating the terms of the lease on his newspaper's offices.

Lai and former Apple Daily executive Wong Wai-keung were both found guilty of fraud in October in what District Judge Stanley Chan described as a "planned, organised and years-long" scheme.