Court Upholds Prison Term In National Security Case

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2022-11-30 HKT 11:31

Share this story

facebook

  • The High Court says a guilty plea is not a mitigation factor that can be applied under the national security law to reduce a prison term below the minimum punishment set out. File photo: RTHK

    The High Court says a guilty plea is not a mitigation factor that can be applied under the national security law to reduce a prison term below the minimum punishment set out. File photo: RTHK

The High Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by a university student against his five-year prison term for inciting secession.

Lui Sai-yu was jailed in April after he pleaded guilty to the national security offence.

The trial judge adopted a starting point of five years and six months and reduced the term because of Lui’s guilty plea.

The prosecution said Lui was one of two administrators of a Telegram channel which posted seditious messages and incited hatred against China and Hong Kong, the central government, and the police.

The channel also carried posts advertising the sale of items to be used at protests.

In an appeal against the sentence, Lui’s lawyer said the trial judge was wrong to class the crime as serious and should have knocked a third off the prison term due to the admission of guilt.

But the Court of Appeal said in a written ruling that the trial judge had correctly classified the case, noting also that the national security law states that offences of a serious nature call for a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.

A three-judge panel also ruled that a guilty plea is not a mitigation factor that can be applied under the national security law to reduce a prison term below the minimum punishment set out.

RECENT NEWS

2025 Hong Kong Fintech Report: What You Need To Know

Hong Kong is hitting the gas when it comes to fintech innovation, regulation and adoption. From the passage of the Stab... Read more

DigiFT Secures SFC Licenses To Offer Tokenised Asset Services In Hong Kong

DigiFT, a Singapore-based digital asset platform focused on institutional-grade tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), has... Read more

JCB Contactless Cards Now Accepted On Shanghai And Beijing Subways

Japan’s JCB has announced that JCB cardholders can now use their contactless cards to access the subway systems in Sh... Read more

Hong Kong Sets Out Next Phase Of Digital Asset Policy

Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) has issued an updated policy statement setting out the ... Read more

Hong Kong Overtakes Singapore In Wealthtech Adoption

Across Asia-Pacific (APAC)’s key wealth management hubs, Hong Kong is emerging as the frontrunner in wealthtech, over... Read more

Chinas AI Capex To Hit 700 Billion Yuan In 2025 Amid US Tech Rivalry

Capital expenditure on AI in China is expected to reach between 600 billion yuan and 700 billion yuan (US$84 billion to... Read more