The 4th Chinese National Pole Dance Championship held in Tianjin
Chinese navy commandos debut at 2014 RIMPAC
Guangxi impression: scenic countryside
World's largest aquatic insect found in Sichuan
Ceremony volunteers for Youth Olympics make public appearance
A glimpse of female crew of Liaoning aircraft carrier
Stills from "Dad, where are we going?"
Legless man's happy life
Top ten most beautiful islands in China
Aerial view of Hong Kong
SHANGHAI, Aug. 9 -- The confessions of a foreign couple jailed on Friday for stealing and reselling personal information to companies including scandal-hit GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) China have been detailed in a court statement.
Briton Peter Humphrey and his American wife Yu Yingzeng were respectively sentenced to two and a half years in prison and two years in prison. They were also fined.
According to the court statement, Humphrey and Yu confessed to obtaining private information of Chinese citizens by illegal means including buying with cash, tracking and covert photography.
They would write reports based on this information, including the targeted people's household registration, travel and call records, and resell them at a profit to various companies, mainly multinationals headquartered in 16 countries, including the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Japan, the couple confessed in court.
The duo said their company earned several million yuan each year.
According to Humphrey, in April 2013, Mark Reilly and Zhao Hongyan from GSK China's management paid him 100,000 yuan as a downpayment and asked him to find out who had filed formal allegations of bribery against the company.
Humphrey conducted a two-month investigation and collected the private information of a number of people via illegal means. He confessed that he then gave this information to GSK China.
Humphrey said that, after his investigation, he found that the reports about GSK's bribery were well-founded.
"We hope the court can accept our contrition. I apologize for what we have done," said Humphrey in his final statement. Yu also asked for the court's forgiveness.
He defended himself by saying that he did not realize his business violated Chinese law.
He also mentioned his son, who was present at the court hearing, and promised that he would teach him to love and respect China and make positive contributions to the country.
"China is open to the outside world and welcomes foreign people, but it never allows them access to the forbidden zone of illegality," the prosecutors said during the trial. "All individuals must abide by China's law, and all enterprises must operate according to law."
The court also warned that any illegal investigation, even if disguised as something other, will never be allowed.
Sophomore sells fruit through WeChat in Shandong
Blockbuster? No, it’s firefighters’ posters
Special 'gifts' for IT men for Chinese Qixi Festival
Foreign students' colorful life in China
French photographer‘s work 'China 2050' goes viral online
Dressed in uniforms to marry you
Female soldier in Chinese special force
Zhujiang ambassadors attend lotus lanterns activity
From girly girl to tough special police officer
22-year-old veteran travels around China
Night scenery of pagoda forests
China suffers from hot summer
48 hours after super Typhoon Rammasun
German pianist plays mid-air ‘magic carpet’ show over Munich Airport
China's manned deep-sea submersible conducts dive in Pacific Ocean
Day|Week|Month