The Australian government says it is closely monitoring the handling of a case involving an Australian entrepreneur detained by police in south China on suspicion of embezzlement.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said yesterday that the 44-year-old businessman, Matthew Ng, was detained 10 days ago in the southern city of Guangzhou, but he has not been charged with any crime.
Ng is chief executive of a travel services company reportedly embroiled in a dispute with one of its local partners.
“The Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou is monitoring developments closely to ensure due legal process is followed,” the Australian statement said.
The government intends to speak with senior level Chinese officials to let them know of their interest in the case, it said.
Police in Guangzhou did not immediately respond to phoned and faxed requests for comment.
The case follows the arrest and subsequent conviction earlier this year in Shanghai of four employees of mining giant Rio Tinto, including Australian citizen Stern Hu (胡士泰), for bribery and infringing trade secrets.
At the time of his arrest, Hu was in charge of Rio Tinto’s troubled iron ore price negotiations with China and the case raised worries over the vulnerability of employees of foreign companies to often selective enforcement of the country’s vague state secrets and corruption laws.
Australia criticized a decision by the Shanghai court that heard the case to keep media and diplomats out of the hearings while it considered charges of stealing commercial secrets and said the 10-year jail sentence given Hu in April was harsh.
Hu’s three Chinese colleagues were imprisoned for seven to 14 years.
Ng’s Guangzhou-based travel services company, Et-China, said in a statement on its Web site that Ng was detained by police “as part of their investigations as a suspect of the crime of misappropriation of company assets.”
The company’s acting chief executive, Chris Rose, urged authorities to resolve the matter and release Ng.
Et-China has a joint venture handling e-ticketing sales and services for Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines. The carrier did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.
Australian news reports said the detention was related to a business dispute between Et-China, which has shares listed on the London Stock Exchange, and another local partner, Guangdong Lingnan International Enterprises.
Australian newspaper the Age said the two sides were at odds over control of a venture called Guangzhou GZL International Travel Services, which according to Et-China’s Web site is 50.64 percent owned by Et-China and is one of the country’s largest leisure tour operators.
Lingnan, a state-owned group that operates several prestigious Guangzhou hotels, opposed a planned acquisition of Et-China by Switzerland’s Kuoni Group, the report said.
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