Hong Kong: Media mogul Jimmy Lai gets over five years for fraud

Jimmy Lai, the billionaire Hong Kong media tycoon, has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for fraud.

A judge said Lai, found guilty of illegally subletting office space in October, felt no remorse.

As well as being sentenced to five years and nine months, Lai was fined 2m Hong Kong dollars (£209,535).

The 75-year-old recently served time for taking part in a banned vigil last year for victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

A separate trial involving Lai on national security charges had been due to begin on 1 December but was postponed at the request of Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu. If convicted, he faces up to life imprisonment.

China has enforced its wide-ranging national security law on the city of Hong Kong, making it easier to prosecute protesters.

The law has led to the arrests of many prominent democracy activists.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to China’s rule in 1997.