Hong Kong police raided a private office of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai on Thursday as part of their investigation into whether he has broken Beijing's new national security law.

Lai, 71, is among more than two dozen people who have been arrested under a draconian security law imposed by Beijing at the end of June to quell massive, often violent pro-democracy protests over the past year.

Police confirmed the raid was triggered by officers from the same newly formed national security unit that first arrested him in April.

"Some relevant exhibits were seized for investigation and no person was arrested today," the police said.

Lai accused officers of removing items before his lawyers could get there.

"It seems that they are looking for every possible reason to charge me," Lai told reporters.

"The police didn't even wait for the lawyer to come before they took things away, so that's not rule of law," he added.

Lai was first detained under the new law in August on suspicion of "collusion with foreign forces" and fraud. Officers raided his Apple Daily newspaper that day and he was later released on bail.

He also faces prosecution over his alleged part in last year's protests.

Mark Simon, one of Lai's top aides, said 14 police officers raided an office of a company owned by Lai on Thursday.

"(The) goal here is to cut money off to Apple Daily," he told AFP.

Simon, who is also a director of the raided office, said he spoke by phone with the officers and said they ignored requests to wait for company lawyers.

Hong Kong police's statement did not address the accusation they acted before lawyers were present but they said they had a warrant from a magistrate.

A few hours later, Lai appeared in court for a procedural hearing in the prosecution of some two dozen activists who took part in a vigil earlier this year, marking Beijing's deadly 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

Apple Daily is Hong Kong's most popular tabloid.

It is unapologetically pro-democracy and critical of both Beijing and Hong Kong's appointed leaders.

In April, Lai said he had provided HK$550 million ($71 million) of his own money to keep the newspaper afloat.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Trudeau slams China on human rights, 'coercive diplomacy'
Ottawa (AFP) Oct 13, 2020
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned China on Tuesday that its "coercive diplomacy," repressive measures in Hong Kong and detention of Uighur Muslims are counterproductive for itself and the rest of the world. Trudeau took aim at Beijing's record as he marked the 50th anniversary of Canada's diplomatic ties with China. "We will remain absolutely committed to working with our allies to ensure that China's approach of coercive diplomacy, its arbitrary detention of two Canadian citizens al ... read more