China jails Australian Matthew Ng for 13 years

December 7th, 2011 - 10:41 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

Beijing, Dec 7 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The Australian government says the country have registered their strong interest in following the case of Matthew Ng to the Chinese government. Ng, the former CEO of travel services firm Et-China, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Tuesday for bribery charges.

The Guangzhou Intermediate Court handed the sentence on Tuesday but Ng’s attorneys have indicated their readiness to appeal the ruling. The case took a national dimension when the Australian government released a statement on the ruling.

The statement said that, “We have made clear to Chinese authorities our strong interest in Mr. Ng’s case.”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard met last April and discussed Ng’s case. Business Week reports that there have been other high profile meetings between Chinese and Australian delegates on the issue.

Ng was arrested and charged in connection with the Rio Tinto scandal last year. Four other suspects including another Australian have all been jailed for bribery charges. They were sentenced between 7 and 14 years.

Ng was found guilty of the charges embezzlement, false capital declaration, corruption and bribery.

The Chinese government insists that the trial was fair and according to the country’s laws.

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