'Witness tailored testimony for lighter sentence'
Lawyers representing Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai on Wednesday argued that a former publisher had tailored his testimony in court for a lighter sentence and to “put the blame” on his former boss. Cheung Kim-hung denied those claims. Continuing cross-examination of Cheung in Lai's national security trial, the defence team suggested that the ex-publisher's testimony as an accomplice witness was inconsistent with certain evidence in his affidavit presented in court. The affidavit was made in support of Cheung's application for bail at the High Court earlier, after he was charged with conspiracy to commit collusion, the court heard. Senior counsel Robert Pang, representing Lai, pointed to the affidavit in which the ex-publisher said the editorial department and senior management of Apple Daily “worked independently of each other”. Cheung said senior management did not include Lai. Justice Alex Lee – one of the three judges – questioned why the Apple Daily founder was not considered senior management. “In my mind, [Lai] was the boss, unlike us who were paid employees working as senior management,” the former publisher testified. The defence suggested that based on Cheung's testimony, Lai was giving editorial instructions at Apple Daily. Lai's lawyers argued that contradicted what’s mentioned in the affidavit, which states that the newspaper strictly adhered to the principle of editorial independence. The ex-publisher said editorial independence meant senior management would not step in because of business or operational reasons. The defence team also challenged Cheung who mentioned in the affidavit that he was “not in any way involved in” setting the editorial policies and practices of the now-defunct newspaper. “I was conveying Lai’s editorial policies. I wasn’t part of formulating policies,” Cheung said. Questions were raised on how the former publisher would ensure editorial policies were adhered to. The defence said according to the affidavit, Cheung said he was never asked to approve or review any articles or videos that appeared in the newspaper. “I would not review every single piece of material before they were published,” the ex-publisher said. “[Other members of] senior management... were senior-level colleagues, and had worked in the company for over 20 years. I had confidence that they could execute [the policies].” Cheung, among six former staff who admitted to conspiracy to commit collusion, denied the defence's claims that he gave inconsistent evidence to try to put the blame on his former boss in the hope of a lighter sentence. The court also heard the ex-publisher had asked Lai whether Apple Daily should close down in 2021, with the outlet being a target of the authorities. Cheung said his former boss, who was behind bars at the time, told him that the newspaper should continue to operate "until it was forced to shut”, and that the outlet should tread carefully. The Apple Daily founder has denied three conspiracy charges relating to collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The trial continues on Thursday.