Police arrest former senior editor of Apple Daily

The police confirmed on Wednesday that officers from its national security department have arrested another former member of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper’s senior staff.

The force said they had arrested the 51-year-old man, a former editor of the newspaper, on suspicion of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.

“The arrested person is being detained for enquiries. Investigations are ongoing. Police will not rule out the possibility of further arrests,” the police said.

Sources identified the man as Lam Man-chung, a former executive chief editor at the Apple Daily. It’s understood he is being detained at the Cheung Sha Wan police station.

Apple Daily, founded by the media tycoon Jimmy Lai, closed down last month, printing its final edition on June 24.

The newspaper had announced it was shutting down because of a lack of funds, after the government froze about HK$18 million of the company’s assets as part of a national security investigation.

A week earlier, the police had conducted a high-profile raid of the newspaper’s headquarters in Tseung Kwan O, with officers from the force’s national security department taking away dozens of computers and other journalistic material.

Five Apple Daily executives were also arrested on the same day, with the force alleging they had played a key role in the publication of newspaper articles that had called for foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland officials.

Two senior executives of the paper have been charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, while several others were arrested and granted police bail.
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Last updated: 2021-07-21 HKT 14:57