Arrests Linked To Calls For Sanctions, Say Police

Police said on Monday that the national security arrests they made shortly before raiding the offices of Apple Daily followed an investigation into a group which had been demanding sanctions against Hong Kong.

At a press briefing, the force said a total of nine men and one woman had been arrested throughout the day, four on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, four on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, and two on suspicion of both offences.

Police didn't give any names, but those arrested for allegedly breaking the national security law -- five men and one woman -- were believed to include media tycoon Jimmy Lai and former Demosisto activist Agnes Chow.

Senior superintendent Li Kwai-wah of the force’s new national security department said officers had been investigating a group that had been “actively engaged” in demanding overseas sanctions on Hong Kong, claiming that two men and one woman were responsible for running the organisation.

Three others -- consisting of senior media figures -- meanwhile, funded this organisation through overseas bank accounts, Li claimed.

He said that arrests had also been made in connection with allegations of conspiracy to defraud, suggesting that Apple Daily had been involved in "cheating behaviour" in order to obtain a lower rent for its office building.

He stressed that police had adopted an extra-cautious approach while raiding the news organisation, saying he had instructed his officers not to seize any news-related material.

He said some of them were seen “scanning through” documents on reporters’ desks because they were simply trying to look for evidence.

Li added that arrangements had been made to ensure the paper's staff could still carry on with their work, to minimise any interruption to publication.

Chief Superintendent Kwok Ka-chuen from the Police Public Relations Bureau, meanwhile, defended an arrangement whereby only a selected number of media organisations were allowed to get closer to the scene of action outside Apple Daily on Monday.

Kwok said 15 media outlets were allowed inside the cordoned area in what he said was a “groundbreaking arrangement to boost transparency”, adding that officers had to make an “operational decision” when deciding who should be allowed in.

The journalists who were pushed back included those from the Associated Press, AFP, and local web-based media like Stand News.

RTHK staff were also briefly barred from going into the cordoned area.