Armed police keep watch outside West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong ahead of sentencing arguments for former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP via Getty ImagesLawyers for former media owner Jimmy Lai have asked a Hong Kong court to grant him a lighter sentence on account of his age and poor health. “A prison sentence would bring him much closer to the end of his life,” he said. I think he can no longer be called Fatty Lai”, Mr Pang said. The law sets strict sentencing bands which are mandatory, but the court also applies common law sentencing principles.
