Key prosecution witness in Jimmy Lai trial admits he aided jailed activist’s failed attempt to flee Hong Kong

Paralegal Wayland Chan says SWHK advocacy group member Andy Li sought his help following his arrest four years ago
He adds he eased communications between Lai and Li and agreed to secure the latter with safe house and discuss ways to counter police surveillance

Hong Kong courts

Brian Wong

Published: 5:59pm, 29 Apr 2024

Why you can trust SCMP

A key prosecution witness in media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s trial has admitted he assisted an activist who was arrested under the Beijing-decreed national security in his failed attempt to escape Hong Kong four years ago.

Paralegal Wayland Chan Tsz-wah on Monday said Andy Li Yu-hin, a core member of the “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” (SWHK) advocacy group, sought his help in August 2020.

“He said he needed a safe house,” Chan told West Kowloon Court. “He said he had been arrested and his phone and everything had come to light.”

Detained activist Andy Li sought paralegal Wayland Chan’s help to flee the city in August 2020, the court has heard. Photo: Handout

Chan, a defendant turned prosecution witness, earlier testified he had facilitated communications between Lai and Li, who agreed to help with the tycoon’s scheme to trigger mainland China’s political and economic collapse by lobbying for international sanctions and other hostile acts.

The 76-year-old Apple Daily founder has denied two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications.

Chan said he agreed to “make arrangements” for Li, including an attempt to secure him a safe house and discussing with him ways to counter police surveillance.

The witness said a person called Chan Sai-tak agreed to provide “financial and transport help” while another collaborator, nicknamed Cap, said he could secure a boat and fishing equipment as camouflage.

Jimmy Lai plotted mainland China’s political collapse, Hong Kong court hears

Chan said he could not recall whether he told Li to surrender to Taiwan authorities once he arrived at the self-ruling island. But he said he was sure he was not the one urging the activist to fly to the Czech Republic thereafter, a plan Li told the court earlier.

The court earlier heard Li was arrested by the mainland coastguard after boarding a Taiwan-bound speedboat on August 23, 2020.

Chan was first arrested for assisting an offender in October 2020, before he was arrested again in February 2021 for a national security offence.

Legal correspondence between Chan’s lawyers and the Department of Justice in May 2021 showed the paralegal intended to admit a conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and “assist the prosecution in [a] future relevant case” on condition that the latter dropped its allegations of his role in arranging for Li’s escape.

Wayland Chan has admitted he eased communications between Andy Li and Jimmy Lai. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Lai’s legal counsel Marc Corlett drew the court’s attention to the 81 meetings Chan had with police while he was in jail.

Corlett said Chan had met police officers for nearly 18 hours before his first video-recorded interview in April 2021 and spent another 65 hours talking to them in 65 visits between May 2021 and January 2024 after all of his court statements had been taken.

Chan revealed he also spoke to officers about his emotional problems and grumbled about his ordeal behind bars.

“At first, I frequently had emotional breakdowns and later I talked about something about life because I could not see the sunlight inside. I really wanted to talk about life and also my family,” the witness said.

Hong Kong activist told to flee to UK after receiving bail, Jimmy Lai trial hears

Chan said he thought those police visits were mere procedural requirements, adding officers neither asked him to talk nor tried to refresh his memory about the present case.

The defence lawyer also suggested some of Chan’s incriminating remarks made in court did not feature in any of his previous sworn statements.

They include claims that Lai did not openly back the “valiant” camp during the city’s 2019 anti-government protests because he needed to “cater to the West” to secure international support and that the mogul asked SWHK members to continue international lobbying after the national security law took effect in June 2020.

Chan agreed those matters were not recorded in any of the three statements he gave to police in May 2021.

The trial continues on Friday.

Post