Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong tycoon and Beijing critic jailed for more than five years on fraud charge

Lai barred from becoming director of any compmay for next eight years

Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s most prominent Beijing critic and pro-democracy media tycoon, was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison on Saturday over fraud charges for violating a lease contract.

The sentence is the latest in a series of cases against the 75-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper.

Lai was arrested during a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong in 2019 and had multiple charges levelled against him, including under the draconian National Security Law. The high-profile Beijing critic has been behind bars since December 2020 and has already served 20 months for unauthorised assemblies.