The Hong Kong Court of First Instance on Friday adjourned the closing submissions in the high-profile national security trial of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, to Monday, citing concerns about Lai’s heart problems.
Closing arguments, which were originally scheduled to begin on Thursday, were postponed amid a black rainstorm warning signal — the highest rainstorm signal, which has been issued a record five times this year.
The closing submissions, expected to take eight days to deliver, are now scheduled to start on Monday morning. Many queued up to get a seat inside the court for the case for up to an hour before the proceedings began. The courtroom was filled with reporters and residents.
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The case is being heard by three national security judges —Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios, and Alex Lee Wan-tang — at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts.
The court, which opened proceedings at around 9:30 am, was paused for nearly 15 minutes to allow the prosecution to arrange medical support for Lai.
After the court resumed, the prosecution informed the court that a medical team was already present but that a Holter monitor —a device that records the heart’s electrical activity — will not be available for installation until Monday.
The defense requested permission to proceed with closing arguments in Lai’s absence, but the judges insisted that Lai’s presence was necessary, and because of concerns over Lai's health issues, they decided to postpone the trial until the necessary equipment and medication was available and in place.
Lai earlier pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the HKSAR National Security Law (NSL), which was introduced in June 2020, as well as a third count of conspiracy to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, etc.
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The sedition charge and one of the collusion charges were also brought against three Apple Daily-related companies — Apple Daily Ltd, Apple Daily Printing Ltd, and AD Internet Ltd.
According to the HKSAR National Security Law, the collusion offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
The trial began on Dec 18, 2023. The judges earlier ruled that Lai has a case to answer.
Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com
