Shanghai court to try GSK investigators publicly on Aug. 8

A Shanghai court said Monday that the trial which begins on Aug. 8, of a foreign couple accused of illegally obtaining information on Chinese citizens, would be open to the public.

Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court will hear the case of Peter William Humphrey, 58, a British national, and his American wife Yu Ying Zeng, 61, who were hired by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) China as private investigators in 2013. The couple were arrested last August and indicted for illegal investigation, the first case of its kind involving foreigners in China.

Prosecutors have found that the couple illegally trafficked a huge amount of personal information on Chinese citizens via a company called ChinaWhys Co. Ltd., registered in 2004 in Shanghai. The personal information traded by the couple included household registration details, backgrounds of family members, real estate, vehicles, call logs and exit-entry records, which they obtained by means of illegal purchase, secret photography and tailing. Their clients were mostly multinational corporations, including GSK China.

Humphrey told reporters that in April 2013 he was contacted by Mark Reilly, then GSK China's general manager and Zhao Hongyan, its legal director. Reilly asked him to find out who disclosed information to Chinese authorities and GSK executives on bribes paid by GSK China.

Chinese police earlier said that the British pharmaceutical company had bribed hospitals, doctors and other medical organizations to boost sales, while inflating drug prices to accommodate bribery expenses and high profits.