Paralegal admits helping Andy Li in bid to flee HK

Paralegal Chan Tsz-wah revealed on the 68th day of Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's trial that he assisted Andy Li Yu-hin in his attempt to flee Hong Kong after the activist was granted bail on his national security charges.

Chan, in continuing to testify as a prosecution witness, admitted not having been truthful in his written statement to police officers in 2021 regarding his involvement in helping Li to flee Hong Kong.

Li was one of 12 people apprehended while attempting to flee to Taiwan in August 2020.

Chan, 32, said Harrison Chan Sai-tak, a member of YouTube channel Tuesday Road, had offered assistance with both financing and transportation to enable Li to get out of Hong Kong.

Chan said he had discussions with a male driver, known only as "Cap," about helping Li to flee Hong Kong.

"Cap" arranged for fishing tools and a boatman who provided a disguise to help Li do so.

Chan said Li had informed him ahead of time of his impending attempt to depart Hong Kong by boat.

Marc Corlett, a king's counsel from New Zealand who represents Lai, questioned Chan about his police statement and video-recorded interview, noting that certain aspects of Chan's court testimony had not been mentioned in either of those records.

Chan acknowledged omissions made in them in the case of Jimmy Lai but stressed the tycoon had indeed made the statements in question.

The defense also highlighted the extensive duration of Chan's interactions with the police, including some 18 hours made before his initial video-recorded interview in April 2021 and an additional 65 hours in 65 visits from officers between May 2021 and January 2022- after Chan had provided all of his court statements.

Chan explained that he discussed his emotional struggles while in custody, saying, "I frequently had emotional breakdowns, and later I talked about something about life because I could not see the sunshine inside."