HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal set aside on Tuesday the bail granted to local media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying by a lower court. 

Lai, who was charged with fraud and violating the National Security Law, has been remanded in custody.

Lai had been in custody since Dec 3, except for when he was released on bail for about a week late last year. On Dec 12, Lai was arrested and charged with one count of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security”. He was denied bail and remanded in custody. 

On Dec 12, Lai was arrested and charged with one count of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security”

Lai was granted a HK$10 million bail by the Court of First Instance on Dec 23 only for the Court of Final Appeal to bring him back into custody on Dec 31 for another hearing.

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Prosecutors have accused Lai of breaching the law over statements he made on July 30 and Aug. 18, in which they allege he requested foreign interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.

Lai's return to custody was related to Article 42 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which stipulates that “no bail shall be granted to a criminal suspect or defendant unless the judge has sufficient grounds for believing that the criminal suspect or defendant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security”.

On Tuesday, the CFA said the lower court applied an “erroneous line of reasoning” and “misconstrued” Article 42. The decision was unanimous.

The CFA ruled that in applying Article 42(2) when dealing with bail applications in cases involving offences endangering national security, the judge should regard the “sufficient grounds (for bail)” question as a matter for the court’s evaluation and judgment and not as involving the application of a burden of proof.

The judges said Lai’s team could make a "fresh application" for bail, as Tuesday’s decision was of "a limited nature".

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Under the National Security Law, the onus is on defendants to prove that they would not be a national security threat if released on bail.

Lai, founder of local media company Next Media, has also been charged with several offenses related to the 2019 social unrest, such as organizing and participating in unlawful assemblies.