A Hong Kong court has sentenced online radio host Edmund “Giggs” Wan to two years and eight months in prison after he reached a plea agreement with the prosecution over his sedition and money laundering charges. Wan has been held in custody since February last year.
Wan appeared in front of Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching at the District Court on Friday morning. Wan held a copy of the Bible to his chest as he entered the court room and waved to members at the public gallery, who shouted “morning, uncle Giggs,” and “look after yourself” to the defendant.
The 54-year-old D100 Radio DJ pleaded guilty last month to three money-laundering charges involving a total of HK$10.3 million and one count of sedition, a colonial-era offence, under a plea agreement. In return for Wan pleading guilty to the four charges, a further six charges were kept on file.
In February 2020, the radio host called for donations via his website and on social media to support the living expenses of Hong Kong protesters, who had travelled to seek refuge and study in Taiwan. Authorities said they “clear signs of money-laundering” in three accounts linked to the radio host, including a “disproportionate” amount of fund and multiple large transactions made “without clear reasons.”
The defendant also hosted a total of 39 programmes between February and November 2020 that contained “seditious” content, some of which “incited others to resist or overthrow the Chinese Communist Party” and “promote Hong Kong independence.”
Wan was arrested in November that year and was initially granted bail. But he has been remanded in custody since he was rearrested in February 2021.
Sedition is outlawed by Hong Kong’s Crimes Ordinance, which was last amended in 1972 when Hong Kong was still a British colony.
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/10/07/hong-kong-online-radio-host-giggs-jailed-for-2-years-and-8-months-over-sedition-and-money-laundering/