Lawrence Lau appointed to represent first national security law defendant

The Legal Aid Department has assigned Sham Shui Po district councilor Lawrence Lau Wai-chung, who is also a barrister, as the defense counsel of Tong Ying-kit, the first person charged under national security law.

The department explained that it assigned the case to Lau in accordance with the established assignment criteria, and he meets the criteria for assignment of legal aid cases.

The department added that at the time Lau was assigned the case, he was not yet involved and charged in any case.

Lau was arrested in the early months of this years and charged of subversion under the national security law.

All the hearings, including the case management hearings and pre-trial reviews in Tong's case, were conducted in open court and information submitted by the prosecution did not involve any confidential matters, according to the department.

“Therefore there does not exist any situation where Mr Lau can make use of confidential information obtained in the case for the purpose of preparing defence in his own case in future”, the department concluded.