Hong Kong media chief Jimmy Lai was ordered to return to prison when the appeals court allowed the prosecutor to appeal his bail.

Lai, 73, was detained for 20 days before being granted bail on December 23 by low court judge Alex Lee with strict conditions, including a bail of HK $ 10 million ($ 1.3 million).

However, the Hong Kong Court of Appeals today allows the prosecutor to appeal the bail decision of the lower court, after assuming that Judge Lee may "have made a mistake in explaining or applying" Article 42 of

"We believe that Judge Lee's decision could be considered erroneous and that his order to allow the defendant to be released on bail is invalid," said the Appeals Court's committee of appeals.

Lai was accused of colluding with foreign countries by calling on foreign governments to punish Hong Kong and China.

Lai was the first defendant to be charged under the Hong Kong security law issued by China in June. After he was released on December 23, the prosecutor quickly proposed to the highest court.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau said that bail should not be considered in national security cases and likened the seriousness of the crime related to national security to murder and treason.

The People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece, previously criticized the decision to allow Lai to bail and warned Lai could be extradited to mainland China for trial.

Lai also faced allegations of fraud and participating in illegal gatherings during the 2019 rallies. The media mogul on December 29 resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Next Digital, the company.

Hong Kong security law criminalizes four types of national security crimes, including separatism, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign or outside parties to endanger security.