Four higher-ups of now-closed tabloid Apple Daily on Thursday were denied bail by West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts for colluding with foreign countries or with external forces to endanger national security.

The four charged are the tabloid's former executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, former associate publisher Chan Pui-man, ex-editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee. They appeared in the court in the morning.

On Wednesday, the police's National Security Department arrested and detained Lam, while also revoking the bail of the rest three after they were released last month.

Since June, a total of eight people who held important position in Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital have been arrested in different police's operations on similar charges, with the tabloid's founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying currently jailed for his roles in several unlawful assemblies.

Judge So Wai-tak, chief magistrate of the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts who adjudicated the case, rejected all defendants' applications for bail.

The case was adjourned to September 30 for further investigation by the prosecution.