Three Hong Kong judges who found Jimmy Lai Chee-ying guilty in his national security trial have raised doubts about whether the former media boss is entitled to a reduced sentence on grounds of his health and arrangements in prison, as records showed he was in a stable condition and had requested solitary confinement of his own free will.
The 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 conviction for conspiring to collude with foreign forces and to print seditious articles.
But defence lawyer Robert Pang Yiu-hung SC also argued that the former media boss had suffered a harsher time behind bars than others due to his age and isolation from his fellow inmates since his initial incarceration in December 2020.
“He’s 78, in advanced years … A prison sentence would bring him much closer to the end of his life,” the lawyer said.
The Post understands that Lai did not submit any mitigation letters.
