The case of Li Zhiying and others seeking to return the collected data is rejected

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Written by: Li Huina

2021-02-26 15:28

The last update date: 2021-02-26 15:29

The founder of Next Media Li Zhiying and several senior officials were arrested in August last year. The police also seized a number of documents. Afterwards, Li and others filed with the court to request the police to return news materials and "legal professional confidentiality" information. The case is today (26th) ) In the High Court, the representative of the Department of Justice asked Lai and others to surrender the passwords of all locked electronic devices, so that if the devices are cracked by the police, the plaintiff will make the same application again, saying that some plaintiffs have been charged with fraud or The situation has changed for national security law crimes.

However, the judge held that the court had no power to force the plaintiff to surrender the password of the electronic device, no matter under the common law or the national security law, and rejected the application of the Department of Justice.

9 plaintiffs: Next Media Co., Ltd., Apple Daily Charity Fund, Apple Daily Co., Ltd., Next Media Management Service Co., Ltd., Next Media founder Li Zhiying, Next Media CEO Zhang Jianhong, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Zhou Daquan, Next Media Chief Executive Officer Huang Weiqiang, General Manager Wu Daguang of Next Media Animation, etc.; the defendant is the Chief of Police.

The situation of a plaintiff accused of violating national security laws has changed

The representative of the Department of Justice pointed out that the situation of the case has changed since the last hearing. Some plaintiffs have been charged with fraud or crimes under the National Security Law. If the plaintiff does not hand over the password, once the police successfully cracks the relevant electronic device, the plaintiff may then The same claim as in this case is filed again, which will cause delays in the criminal trial.

The plaintiff questioned whether the court had this power

The plaintiff questioned whether the court had the power to compel the plaintiff to disclose the password, and whether to make a prosecution was the decision of the Attorney General, but the Attorney General made this application on the grounds that the plaintiff was prosecuted.

Attorney General's statement was not accepted

The judge disagreed with the Attorney General’s statement that “the situation has changed”, nor did he accept that there were special circumstances that required the court to change an earlier order, and no matter under common law or national security law, the court had no power to force the plaintiff to surrender electronic equipment. , So the application by the Department of Justice was rejected.

In addition, the plaintiff also applied for photocopying of all seized data. The judge allowed the plaintiff to photocopy electronic data, but only paper data that involved the "legal professional confidentiality" claim.

Case number: HCMP1217-1222/2020

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