The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Tuesday defended the High Court order allowing the confiscation of assets of former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung, who had absconded overseas and is a wanted person after being charged with violating the National Security Law for Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government said it strongly condemned the “unfounded smear and malicious attacks” online against the order issued by the Court of First Instance on Monday for the confiscation of HK$800,000 ($102,800) of Hui's assets.  

"The value of the criminal proceeds ordered for confiscation by the court is determined strictly based on evidence and in accordance with the law,” the spokesman said, adding that there was "absolutely no situation" in which private property could be “confiscated at any time” or “arbitrarily”.  

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According to the law, if a defendant benefits from committing a national security offense and makes a gift at any time from six years before the date of his or her prosecution, the property held by the recipient of the gift may be regarded as the defendant's property and confiscated, the spokesman said.

“The value of the criminal proceeds attributed to Hui Chi-fung was calculated based on the relevant evidence to establish a reasonable value," the spokesman said, adding that the court was satisfied with the transaction evidence submitted by the Department of Justice.

He said that, before and after Hui absconded from Hong Kong in December 2020, he transferred nearly HK$2.5 million in personal assets as gifts to his mother and wife.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said in December last year that the SAR government had initiated legal proceedings to confiscate Hui’s criminal proceeds of about HK$800,000 in accordance with the law.

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"Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable,” the spokesman said.

He said Hui conspired with foreign politicians in 2020 to forge documents and deceive the court to obtain its permission for him to leave Hong Kong while he was on bail.

Hui jumped bail after he flew to Denmark to attend a meeting on climate change. He was at the time facing at least nine charges in three criminal cases related to alleged improper behavior at the Legislative Council and for his role in the social unrest in 2019.

Afterwards, Hui was suspected to have committed offenses endangering national security overseas.  On August 12, 2021 and June 21, 2023, two magistrates issued warrants against him for allegedly committing crimes of "inciting secession", "inciting subversion of state power", and "colluding with foreign or external forces to endanger national security".

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Hui is currently a wanted person with a reward notice from the police, and is specified as an absconder under the city’s Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.