Taiwan Jails Three For Attack On Abducted Bookseller

Three men have been jailed by a Taiwan court for splashing Lam Wing-kee, one of the founders of Causeway Bay Books, with red paint in Taipei earlier this year.

A 51-year-old man surnamed Cheng, who was considered the mastermind of the attack, was on Wednesday meted a four-month prison term.

Two other defendants who are brothers surnamed Tseng were each given a three-month sentence.

They were convicted of causing bodily injury, coercion, public insult and damage.

The Taipei District Court heard how Lam was attacked while having breakfast at a café in Taipei’s Zhongshan district on April 21, just days before opening his new bookshop in the area.

The assailants had claimed that they carried out the assault to make a political statement.

In passing sentence, the judge slammed the trio for failing to respect the political views and values of other people, saying a deterrent sentence was needed to reflect the severity of the offence.

Lam was one of five people linked to the bookstore in Causeway Bay who vanished in late 2015. All of them later resurfaced on the mainland and were accused of various crimes there.

Lam returned to Hong Kong while on bail and revealed how he was taken away by security forces on the mainland and detained for weeks.

He fled to Taiwan in April last year, citing fears he would be sent to the mainland under the new extradition laws Hong Kong was planning at the time, but which were eventually scrapped following the massive protests.