Two Apple Daily execs charged with security offence

Police say they have charged two of the five Apple Daily executives arrested on Thursday with the offence of colluding with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security.

The force’s national security department said two men, aged 47 and 59, would be brought before West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

RTHK understands that the pair are Apple Daily’s editor-in-chief, Ryan Law, and Cheung Kim-hung, chief executive of Next Digital.

Police, meanwhile, are continuing their investigation into the remaining three senior Apple Daily executives.

One of them, the paper’s associate publisher, Chan Pui-man, was released on bail on Friday evening. On leaving Tseung Kwan O police station, she thanked her colleagues for standing firm, saying she was very touched to see them work so hard despite the difficult circumstances.

The five Apple Daily executives were arrested on Thursday, with the police alleging they had played a crucial role in the publication of Apple Daily articles that called for foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland officials.

Officers also conducted a high profile raid of the newspaper’s headquarters in Tseung Kwan O on the same day, seizing dozens of computers, as well as journalistic material.

Authorities also froze about HK$18 million of the media company’s assets, with Security Secretary John Lee saying he had reason to believe the money belonged to a criminal syndicate.

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Last updated: 2021-07-18 HKT 22:30