Hong Kong tycoon Lai pleads guilty to illegal assembly

Hong Kong activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and two former lawmakers from the city could face up to five years in prison, after they pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of knowingly taking part in an unauthorized assembly amid the city's 2019 social unrest.

Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum were arrested on Feb 28, 2020, over an illegal assembly that took place on Aug 31, 2019, when the city was embroiled in street violence.

The case was heard at the District Court in Wan Chai on Wednesday morning.