Former editor-in-chief of now-defunct Stand News website secures bail in Hong Kong after nearly a year in custody pending sedition trial

The former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Stand News website in Hong Kong has secured bail after being remanded in custody for nearly a year pending trial on sedition charges.

Chung Pui-kuen, 53, as well as former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam Shiu-tung, 35, and Stand News’ holding company Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited are accused of conspiracy to publish seditious publications. Lam was granted bail last month.

Senior Counsel Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, for the defence, on Tuesday said Chung was unable to review all of the new material in remand, as visiting hours at the detention centre were limited, while detainees were not allowed to receive document folders.

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Eu argued that Chung’s wife Chan Pui-man was also in custody over another case regarding the now-defunct Apple Daily on charges of collusion with foreign forces, therefore the risk of him fleeing was “basically zero”.

Prosecutor Laura Ng Shuk-kuen, however, objected to the bail application, adding that Chung had property in Stanley, which showed he could afford more than the bail amount of HK$50,000 proposed by the defence.

Hong Kong editors’ lawyer accuses prosecution of ‘making a mockery of the law’

District Judge Kwok Wai-kin, one of the few jurists hand-picked by the city’s leader to oversee national security cases, said he believed that the potential for Chung to endanger national security while on bail was low, but the bail amount should reflect the seriousness of the charge.

Kwok eventually granted HK$100,000 cash bail for Chung with a surety of HK$50,000 from his younger brother. He also needs to surrender his travel documents and was told not to give media interviews.

Hong Kong’s Stand News shuts down after 7 held, assets frozen

Chung was also banned from leaving Hong Kong and publishing or reposting remarks deemed to endanger national security. He must stay at his stated address and report to police every week.

Chung and Lam last month denied sedition charges, while requesting a permanent stay of proceedings in their trial on the grounds of a violation of the city’s prosecution rules.

The court had also recorded a not-guilty plea from Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, which was unrepresented in the proceedings.

The pair were charged with conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications between July 2020 and December last year. They face up to two years’ imprisonment if convicted.

More from South China Morning Post:

• Hong Kong editors used Stand News to praise criminals and promote illegal ideologies, says prosecutor at sedition trial
• Hong Kong media and the closures of Stand News and Citizen News: where do the rest go from here?

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