Defence says the group should not have to meet a tough threshold for bail since they have not been charged under the national security law.
HKFP report
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has refused to grant bail to a group of five speech therapists accused of sedition by publishing children’s picture books about sheep, rejecting an appeal against a lower court’s refusal to free them pending trial.
Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung, Sidney Ng, Samuel Chan and Marco Fong were arrested by national security police in July. They are accused of conspiring with Wong Hoi-ching, another member of the union, in printing, publishing, and distributing three children’s books, Guardians of the Sheep Village, 12 Warriors of the Sheep Village, and Dustman of the Sheep Village.
Their intent was to “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Hong Kong government and “the administration of justice in Hong Kong,” according to the police.
They were charged with two counts of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, a breach of a colonial-era law under the Crimes Ordinance, and were denied bail by national security magistrate Victor So at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts.
Applicable outside security law
Defence counsel Hectar Pun and prosecutor Anthony Chow made submissions to the Court of Final Appeal justices Andrew Cheung, Roberto Ribeiro and Joseph Fok on Thursday. But the judges refused to grant leave to appeal against the bail decision, Ming Pao reported.
Hong Kong’s top court rejects bail for group charged with sedition over children’s picture books
