In Hong Kong, a pro-democracy media tycoon has been sentenced today to five years and nine months in prison over two fraud charges linked to lease violations.<br />''<br />''Jimmy Lai, who was arrested during a crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement following widespread protests in 2019 and under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing, was also fined two million Hong Kong dollars. <br />''<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">His media company, Next Digital, published the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. The publication was forced to close following the arrests of its top executives, editors and journalists last year.<br />''<br />''In October, Lai was found guilty of fraud for subletting part of the office space to a secretarial firm, which was also controlled by him, between 2016 and 2020.<br />''<br />''The second fraud count was for letting the same firm use the media outlet's office space in an alleged breach of lease agreements from 1998 to 2015.<br />''<br />''Handing down the sentences, Judge Stanley Chan said the violations occurred over two decades, adding Lai did not feel guilty about the moves.</span><br />''<br />''<br />