Hong Kong lawmaker ‘Long Hair’ Leung has case to answer over his failure to disclose donation from tycoon Jimmy Lai, court finds

Ruling comes after judge admits key documents such as pan-democrat’s past declarations, council meeting participation and responses to media inquiries

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Lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung outside Eastern Court in Sai Wan Ho on Monday. Photo: David Wong

Published: 8:36pm, 12 Jun 2017Updated: 10:08pm, 12 Jun 2017

A Hong Kong court ruled on Monday that veteran lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung has a case to answer in his alleged failure to declare to the Legislative Council a HK$250,000 donation from a media tycoon.

The District Court ruling came after judge Alex Lee Wan-tang admitted key documents such as records of the lawmaker’s past declarations, council meeting participation and responses to media inquiries into evidence, despite defence objections.

Prosecutors said such records showed Leung was aware of the legislative requirement to register the payment and disclose his acceptance during meetings that might discuss issues relating to his donor, media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, yet he deliberately failed to do so.

Leung is to open his defence case on Tuesday.

The 60-year-old lawmaker earlier pleaded not guilty to one count of misconduct in public office over a failure to declare the payment between his acceptance on May 22, 2012, and his arrest on June 23 last year.

His counsel, Martin Lee Chu-ming SC, on Monday accused prosecutors of repeatedly changing their case: from limiting the allegation to his failure to disclose receipt of the money per se, to including his non-disclosure both at a council meeting in January 2014 and to media the following summer.