Top Counsels Clash On Jimmy Lai Bail Ruling

The vice chairwoman of the Bar Association, Anita Yip, has cast doubt on a decision by the top court to rescind bail for media tycoon Jimmy Lai, though executive councillor Ronny Tong said the bail threshold should be higher in national security cases.

Lai, who faces a charge under the national security law as well as a fraud case, was returned to jail on Thursday, just over a week after the High Court granted his release. He'll remain behind bars until the Court of Final Appeal can hold a full hearing on February 1.

Yip said she couldn't understand why the three-judge panel had decided Lai should be remanded until the hearing, which will consider whether a lower court judge erred in his interpretation of a provision of the security law limiting the right to bail.

The judges said that Lai should be remanded for now, as letting him go free would, in practice, mean accepting the lower court's decision to grant bail. But Yip disagreed, saying all appeals are in essence a challenge to a lower court's decision.

Speaking on a RTHK radio programme, the senior counsel said that the court should have also considered other factors, such as whether the accused would abscond and the strength of the prosecution evidence.

But Tong, who is also a senior counsel, said the national security law stipulated a higher threshold than in other cases for suspects who want to seek bail while awaiting trial.

He said it is up to the defense to convince the court that the accused would not violate the security law again while being released.

The top court will determine in the next hearing whether the High Court judge properly applied Article 42 of the national security law. The article says suspects must be held in custody unless a judge is satisfied that they no longer threaten national security.

Lai's bail conditions included a stipulation that he remain at home except when reporting to police or attending court. He was also required to put up a HK$10 million bond and was banned from giving interviews, contacting foreign officials or posting on social media.