Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)'s Court of Appeal on Monday morning dismissed the appeals by 12 defendants prosecuted in the high-profile case of conspiracy to subvert state power who sought to overturn their convictions or have their sentences reduced, multiple Hong Kong media outlets reported.
Hong Kong SAR's High Court (Photo: VCG)
SCMP reported that former lawmakers Helena Wong Pik-wan, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung sought to overturn their convictions, as did ex-district councillors Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying, Kalvin Ho Kai-ming and Tat Cheng Tat-hung, and Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Owen Chow Ka-shing, Winnie Yu Wai-ming and Gordon Ng Ching-hang. All but Gwyneth Ho also sought more lenient sentences if the convictions were upheld.
Also, Prince Wong Ji-yuet, who pleaded guilty, appealed against her 53-month sentence.
According to Mingpao.com, nearly 100 members of the public queued outside the court for seats in the public gallery. A strict security cordon was in place, with roadblocks set up in the surrounding area.
The report noted that several foreign consular representatives based in Hong Kong attended the hearing as observers. Lee Tsz-shun, another defendant who was acquitted in the same case, was also present.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, in January 2021, Hong Kong police arrested more than 50 people suspected of organizing or participating in the so-called "primary election" in 2020, allegedly breaching "conspiracy to subvert the state power" under the national security law in Hong Kong. Among them, 47 were prosecuted by the Department of Justice of the HKSAR government. They included Benny Tai, and former lawmakers such as Wu Chi-wai, Lam Cheuk-ting and Alvin Yeung. They were charged with one count of conspiracy to subvert the state power.
The case was first heard at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts from March 1 to 4, 2021, before being transferred to the High Court for further proceedings. During the trial, 31 individuals pleaded guilty, while 16 refused to plead guilty, Xinhua reported.
After continued hearings, on May 30, 2024, the court delivered its verdict on the 16 individuals who refused to plead guilty. Fourteen were found guilty and two were acquitted.
The High Court of HKSAR in November 2024 delivered sentences to the 45 individuals convicted of "conspiracy to subvert the state power" to imprisonment ranging from 50 months to 10 years, Xinhua reported.
Concurrently, the appellate court on Monday also upheld the acquittal of one of 47 defendants prosecuted in the high-profile case of conspiracy to subvert state power, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The Department of Justice's (DoJ) appeal regarding the acquittal of Barrister Lawrence Lau Wai-chung has been dismissed, thereby upholding his not-guilty verdict, Mingpao.com reported.