A key prosecution witness in Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s national security trial who earlier admitted lying to police said he started being truthful as he no longer wanted the lies to weigh on his “conscience.”
Chan Tsz-wah, a paralegal charged alongside Lai, took to the witness stand on Monday for the 12th day.
Prosecutor Anthony Chau continued his re-examination of Chan after the defence finished their questioning on Friday. Chan admitted to the defence that he had given false statements to officers during his first two interviews with police in October 2020.
Chan said he had hoped that luck was “on [his] side” and that he could minimise consequences by distancing himself from those involved in the national security case, including Lai and Stand With Hong Kong, an advocacy group that lobbied for sanctions on the city.
76-year-old Lai is on trial for two counts of taking part in a “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under the national security legislation, and also for conspiring to publish “seditious” materials under a colonial-era law. The tycoon’s outlet, which was forced to close in June 2021 after senior staff were arrested, faces the same charges. Apple Daily’s newsroom was raided twice, and its assets were frozen.
The prosecution on Monday displayed the transcript of an interview that Chan did with police on April 28, 2021, six months after his initial interviews. The transcript showed Chan telling police that he wanted to give a “truthful account.”
Chau asked Chan: “What made you change your mind?”
Testifying in Cantonese, the paralegal replied that his initial evidence was fabricated, and that he “did not want [lies] to weigh down on [his] conscience anymore.”
Asked by Esther Toh, one of the three designated national security judges, if he meant he did not want to be “reprimanded” by himself anymore, he said yes.
The court heard that Chan initiated the April 2021 interview meeting with police, and that he did not make any false statements to police during that, and subsequent, interviews.
Chan was apprehended first in October 2020 over allegedly assisting an offender, and again in February 2021 under the national security law.
He is testifying against Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to his charges. Chan himself was charged with one count of conspiring to collude with foreign forces, and pleaded guilty in August 2021.
The defence earlier drew attention to apparent inconsistences in Chan’s evidence in court and statements he had given to police during interviews after his arrests.
Among the lies Chan admitted to telling police were claims that he was not a member of Stand With Hong Kong, and that he was not involved in the group’s efforts to call on foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong.
Chan told the court on Monday that he was not sure if he had been formally designated a prosecution witness by late April, when he was interviewed by police again. But – by that time – he already decided to “speak the truth and everything that [he] could remember.”
70th day of trial
Monday marked the 70th day of Lai’s high-profile national security trial, in which the media mogul faces up to life imprisonment if convicted.
The trial – which began in mid-December – was initially slated to take 80 days, meaning it would wrap up this month. But one of Lai’s lawyers, Robert Pang, told the court that the defence planned to play 35 hours of an interview show hosted by the mogul on Apple Daily, as well as summon six or seven police officers to testify.
“[It] looks like we might be going into early June,” Pang said.
Also on Monday, the prosecution questioned Chan based on his responses during the defence’s examination. On Friday, lawyer Marc Corlett listed 14 statements or topics from Chan’s court testimony that he suggested were “untrue and something [he] came up with in the witness box for the first time.”
When asked by Chau, Chan confirmed that he had earlier told the defence in court that he messaged Lai to express concerns about the national security law, saying perhaps that they should “back down” and stop calling on foreign governments to sanction Hong Kong.
Chau questioned why Chan had not mentioned this to police, to which he replied “no reason in particular.”
The prosecutor also asked Chau why he had never told police that he had discussed the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a group comprising of overseas lawmakers that discusses alleged human rights violations in China, with Lai’s aide Mark Simon.
“No reason in particular,” Chan replied. “It’s just that I did not take part in IPAC specifically, so I don’t have much recollection about it.”
The proceedings will continue on Tuesday. Corlett will continue follow-up questions for Chan, including about the role of Simon, Lai’s aide.
Chau said the prosecution would summon Chow Tat-kuen, the former chief operating officer of Apple Daily’s parent company Next Digital, after Chan completes his testimony.
Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020 following months of anti-extradition law protests and unrest. The law criminalises secession, subversion, foreign collusion and terrorism, with those convicted facing up to life imprisonment.
Lai has been detained since December 2020. It is unclear if he will personally testify during the trial.
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