Hong Kong singer-activist appears in court without lawyer after withdrawing legal aid application

A Hong Kong singer-activist charged underneath the colonial-period sedition law has appeared in court unrepresented immediately after professing that he was instructed to withdraw his legal support software.

Tommy Yuen, 42, appeared at the District Courtroom in front of hand-picked national stability judge Stanley Chan on Tuesday. The singer-activist was accused of committing an act or functions with seditious intention in link to social media posts. 

Yuen, alongside with a woman, was also accused of fraud in excess of allegedly boosting funds under phony pretences.

The singer-activist has been remanded in custody due to the fact February.

The sedition law, which falls below the Crimes Ordinance, is diverse from the Beijing-imposed nationwide protection regulation.

The laws, last amended in the 1970s when Hong Kong was nonetheless beneath British colonial rule,  criminalises incitement to violence, disaffection and other offences versus the administration.

Withdrawing legal assist application

The singer-activist did not have a authorized agent in court on Tuesday, obtaining withdrawn his application for legal help on Could 31.

Yuen stated the lawyer who represented him in the course of the final court docket session had told him to withdraw his legal help software, and said that he would employ a law firm to stand for him in court in the future session. He also claimed that he was not absolutely sure which law organization he would retain the services of, as matters were “arranged by men and women outside.”

The prosecution reported that they had intended to implement to amend one particular of the prices on Tuesday, but then stated they would wait around right until the upcoming court docket session, when Yuen experienced a agent.

Chan then adjourned the scenario to July 26, and questioned Yuen if he comprehended that he could not be the human being instigating delays in the courtroom session by repeatedly and purposefully not possessing a authorized representative.