The Hong Kong Court of First Instance dismissed the appeal filed by the unlicensed activity offender.

According to the news from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on May 15th, Lai Jia-yi (female) was convicted of operating without a license in a prosecution brought by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and sentenced to two weeks in prison. As her appeal against this decision failed, she has to serve the sentence immediately. The Eastern District Court ruled on October 30, 2024, that Lai was guilty of running a securities trading business without obtaining a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and sentenced her to two weeks in prison. Lai was also ordered to pay 98,000 Hong Kong dollars to the victims of her unlicensed activities as compensation. Shortly after the court's ruling, Lai submitted a notice of appeal against her conviction and sentence. She was granted bail pending the appeal, and a hearing on the appeal was held in the original trial court today. Previously, on October 30, 2024, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a statement, marking the first time the court imposed an immediate imprisonment sentence and compensation order in a prosecution brought by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission under Section 114 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance. Lai was also ordered to pay the investigation costs of the Securities and Futures Commission. The case involved Lai, who was a university student at the time, between April and May 10, 2018, displaying herself as operating a securities trading business to her friend (the victim) and persuading the victim to deposit funds into her bank account for securities investments on the victim's behalf. In the end, the victim only received 2,000 Hong Kong dollars in alleged profits from Lai but was unable to recover the invested funds.