A Hong Kong court sentenced Jimmy Lai to five years and nine months in prison, local media reported, adding to the media mogul’s growing jail time as the city cracks down on high-profile dissidents.
The 75-year-old was sentenced by Judge Stanley Chan in the District Court on Saturday after he was convicted on two counts of fraud in October. He was also fined HK$2 million ($257,000) and is forbidden to work in management for any company for eight years, media including online news portal HK01 reported.
Lai pleaded not guilty to using the former headquarters of his Next Digital Ltd. media company for purposes not specified in the lease. Prosecutors said the activity benefited Lai’s now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which closed last year under pressure from the city’s China-drafted national security law.
