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Ex-prosecutor ‘has instructions’ to represent national security suspect Andy Li

蘋果日報 2021/05/19 06:00


A retired senior prosecutor of the Hong Kong government represented national security defendant Andy Li in court on Tuesday after misgivings were raised about the appointment of the previous defense lawyer.
Alain Sham, former deputy director of public prosecutions at the Department of Justice, replaced barrister Lawrence Law to speak on behalf of Li at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts.
Pro-democracy activist Li, 30, faced charges of colluding with foreign forces under the city’s national security law, and possession of ammunition without a license. He was also said to have conspired to assist offenders in relation to a failed attempt with 11 others to flee to Taiwan by boat last year, for which he served a seven-month sentence in the neighboring mainland city of Shenzhen.
On Tuesday, a tired-looking Li nodded and blinked at spectators in the public gallery in court, having been brought from the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre to attend the hearing.
According to the judiciary’s website, the West Kowloon court was scheduled on Tuesday to handle the transfer of Li’s case to the High Court, but his barrister Sham applied for an adjournment to June 10 to allow time for plea negotiations with the prosecution. Li did not seek bail and would remain in custody until the next session.
Outside court, Sham rejected suggestions that he had been assigned by the government to represent Li, but also declined to confirm if he had been appointed by Li’s family. Sham said only that he did not have Li’s instruction regarding such questions and had to protect his client’s privacy. The barrister briefly responded with “no comment” to questions on when he had been asked to replace Law.
Sham worked in the department as a deputy director of public prosecutions and a principal lawyer before his retirement in 2016. While in the civil service, he represented the government in high-profile cases, such as former Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s 2015 misconduct charges and former Chief Secretary Rafael Hui’s graft case in 2014. He was also the father of ViuTV host and actress Shirley Sham.
In April, Li’s sister told the media her family did not appoint Law to handle her brother’s case, and that they had not been able to speak to the barrister before the first court session. Earlier reports showed that Law’s license was temporarily suspended in 2005 and 2007 following two complaints about professional misconduct.
Li and other activists, including Apple Daily media tycoon Jimmy Lai and paralegal Chan Tze-wah, allegedly solicited foreign governments and organizations to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China officials. He was also accused of intending to obstruct the arrest and prosecution of offenders by trying to flee to Taiwan with 11 others who were later convicted in mainland China.
The charge of possessing ammunition without a license pertained to an August police raid of his home in Sha Tin, where they found 232 used tear gas canisters, seven used sponge grenades and 38 used rubber bullets.
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