HK mogul's ex-workers 'broke down in tears' as they watched sentencing

Lai's sentence was by far the harshest handed down under Hong Kong's national security law, which was imposed by Beijing in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests. It was condemned by international rights groups as a symbol of Hong Kong's shrivelling press freedoms. "We all broke down in tears," Cheung told AFP after watching 78-year-old Lai's sentence read out in a West Kowloon courtroom. "For his age, this is tantamount to a life sentence -- an extremely severe punishment," she said.