A jailed Hong Kong student loses bid to reduce sentence over inciting secession in landmark ruling

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A jailed university student in Hong Kong has lost his bid to reduce his five-year sentence over inciting secession. The court ruling is expected to set the bar for sentencing in other national security cases, including those involving some of the city’s most prominent democracy leaders. Lui Sai-yu pleaded guilty to breaching the sweeping security law in April 2022. But his timely guilty plea did not give a one-third reduction in sentence like in many other cases in the city’s common law system last year because the security law imposed minimum penalty for serious offences. Judges at the top court on Tuesday unanimously dismissed the appeal.