Briton in GSK graft case freed from prison
Print Edition
THE British investigator who was imprisoned in China for his links to a corruption case involving pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was yesterday granted early release, according to his son and a family friend.
Peter Humphrey was sentenced by a Shanghai court in August to two and a half years in prison for illegally obtaining the personal information of Chinese citizens.
Yu Yingzeng, his American wife and partner in the couple’s investigative firm, ChinaWhys, was given a two-year prison term.
Humphrey and Yu were hired by GSK to investigate the source of a lurid sex tape of the company’s China boss, shortly before the British multinational became embroiled in bribery allegations.
“He (Humphrey) was notified today that the court decided to reduce his sentence by seven months,” the friend said, adding that he was originally due for release in January next year, as the court counted the time he was held before being tried.
“The British consulate is preparing an emergency passport and then he will be deported,” she said.
A spokesman for the British consulate in Shanghai confirmed that a British national had been released and said it was providing assistance.
Humphrey is currently in hospital, where he has been for several weeks undergoing medical tests for a potentially serious form of cancer, the friend said.
The family is uncertain if his wife, who is due for release next month, will also have her sentence reduced, she said.
“I am stunned and delighted and I hope to see both my parents as soon as possible,” said the couple’s son Harvey Humphrey.
“My father might need treatment for his health but he will soon be able to speak for himself,” he said in a statement.
In September, a Chinese court fined GSK 3 billion yuan (US$483.4 million) following a near-yearlong bribery probe.
Four former GSK executives were given suspended prison sentences of between two and four years.
GSK “resorted to bribery to boost sales of its medical products and sought benefits in an unfair manner,” Xinhua news agency cited the court as saying in a statement.
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