Hitmen 'offered $13,000' for attack on Hong Kong journalist
Hong Kong (China)
Two men charged with a savage knife attack on the former editor of a Hong Kong newspaper were offered HK$100,000 ($13,000) each to carry out the hit, prosecutors said Wednesday, as they pleaded not guilty.
Kevin Lau, former editor of the investigative Ming Pao newspaper, was left in critical condition after the brutal street attack in broad daylight by two men in February last year, who then escaped on a motorbike.
The attack intensified fears over press freedom in Hong Kong it came just weeks after Lau was removed from his position at the helm of Ming Pao and replaced with an editor deemed to be pro-Beijing.
Yip Kim-wah, 39, and Wong Chi-wah, 37, are charged with malicious wounding with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm and pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday, the first day of evidence in the trial.
"Neither of them knew Kevin Lau. For rewards, he was chopped several times six in total," prosecutor Nicholas Adams said. Adams added that the pair had been offered "HK$100,000 each" for the hit, without elaborating on the source of the proposal.
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