00:00I give thanks to God above everything else. I also like to give thanks to my wife, my mother who is 92 years old who has been going through this ordeal for the past three years. I also like to thank some good friends like MP and Darcy who stood with me.
00:19On April 7th of this year, mere weeks before the general elections, David Lee gave thanks for the magistrate court dismissing fraud charges related to tax exemptions on his vehicle as a parliamentarian. Acting Chief Magistrate Christine Charles had dismissed the charges of conspiracy to defraud and misbehavior in public office after upholding a no-case submission by Lees Attorneys.
00:43Magistrate Charles ruled that the prosecution presented insufficient evidence to sustain the charges or proceed to trial.
00:51She also acquitted businessman Hugh Leung Poi of Sport Outlet Limited who faced a joint charge with Lee for conspiracy to defraud.
00:59However, just after noon today, according to a media release from the Commission of Police, Alistair Guvaro, a judicial warrant was executed for the rearrest of Lee and Pyeong Poi.
01:08The release stated that the warrant was issued by DPP Roger Gaspard under Section 23.5 of the Indictable Offenses Preliminary Inquiry Act, Chapter 12.01.
01:19After the magistrate's decision, the DPP had made its intentions clear to apply for a judicial warrant and have a judge make a determination on whether Magistrate Charles got it wrong.
01:29Now that both men have been rearrested, they will be brought directly to the High Court to face trial for their offenses.
01:36Lee and Leung Poi were jointly charged in September 2022 with conspiring to deprive the state of tax revenue related to the importation of a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG by Lee valued at more than $2 million.
01:51Lee faced additional charges of misbehavior in public office and falsely claiming the vehicle was his in order to claim tax exemptions entitled to him as a Member of Parliament.
02:03The TTPS media release indicated that both men were taken into custody and were going through standard processing procedures.
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