76-year-old Ma Sik-chun, co-founder of Oriental Daily News, was denied at the Court of First Instance to have his warrant of arrest issued 30 years ago revoked.
Ma was charged in 1977 with conspiracy to traffic morphine and opium – he skipped bail and fled to Taiwan in 1978.
Ma’s lawyer pleaded with the court to revoke his arrest warrant based on the fact that the case was over 30 years ago and the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence for prosecution.
Ma’s lawyer also said that Ma was in poor health and it’s his dying wish to return to Hong Kong.
The Judge concluded that it is up to the prosecution to decide whether the lapse of time has weakened the evidence and if there is not enough evidence to prosecute Ma, the right approach would be for Ma to stand before the court.
Source: SCMP
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
