High Court Judge Redson Kapindu has rejected an application for bail by Lin Yunhua, a convicted wildlife trafficker and money launderer, stating that the proposed conditions by both the State and applicant were not enough to address the risk of him absconding.
The court said the case presented a serious flight risk and that the proposed arrangements would not provide sufficient assurance that Lin would remain available to face the proceedings.
The judge also raised concerns over the financial implications of the proposed bail arrangement, particularly the suggestion that Lin could meet costs for police officers assigned to supervise him.
Further, Kapindu questioned a proposed condition that Lin is to finance the costs of their own supervision, arguing that it could create unequal treatment between wealthy and less affluent accused persons.
The judge warned that the bail system should not become one where people with money can effectively secure a different form of detention from other remand prisoners.
The court said: “The administration of the bail regime in this country must not develop into a system in which persons who present otherwise unacceptable risks, including serious flight risks, can, through private financial means, effectively pay their way out of conventional remand prison custody.”
The judge also described the proposed arrangement for police allowances as “institutionally inappropriate”, questioning the relationship created when an accused person financially supports officers responsible for supervising them.
The court further observed that freedom guaranteed by the State should not, as a general rule, be “privately bought at a price.”
The court therefore declined to grant Lin bail under the proposed conditions.
