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SHANGHAI, July 3 (Reuters) - The trial in China of a Britishcorporate investigator and his American wife and businesspartner arrested a year ago after they did work forGlaxoSmithKline PLC will be closed to the public, twofamily friends with knowledge of the matter told ReutersThursday.
The detention of Peter Humphrey and Yu Yingzeng has sentshockwaves through the foreign business community. For years,the community has relied on investigative firms such as thecouple's Shanghai-based company ChinaWhys to better understandthe Chinese business environment.
In April 2013, GSK employed ChinaWhys to investigate anex-employee suspected of sending anonymous emails, including thecirculation of an intimate video of former GSK China head MarkReilly with his girlfriend, as well as emails containingallegations of widespread bribery at the British drugmaker.
Three months later, authorities detained Humphrey and Yu forillegally buying and selling private information. Chineseauthorities have not openly made a link between GSK and the caseagainst ChinaWhys.
The couple were subsequently arrested, which typically meansthe police believe they have enough evidence for the case to bebrought to trial. They are being held in Shanghai, but it is notknown in which court they will be tried.
U.S. consular officials had been informed on Wednesday whenvisiting Yu that they would not be able to attend the trial, andthat the decision to keep the trial closed had been made on thegrounds of privacy, according to the couple's family friends,who declined to be identified because of the apparentsensitivity of the case.
The trial date has also been pushed back a week to Aug. 7from July 29, the people said.
The U.S. and British consulates declined to comment.
CLOSED TRIALS
In China, court cases involving state secrets or nationalsecurity are regularly closed to the public. However, thecouple's son said in a statement this case involved neither.
"I am very worried that family and consular officials arenot allowed to attend my parents' trial. This does not involvestate secrets. This does not involve national security," HarveyHumphrey, 19, said in the statement to media.
"I am surprised at this decision since China wants topromote openness and the rule of law and I hope that they willlet me in."
One of the family friends said the defendants' lawyers hadbeen required by the prosecutor to sign non-disclosureagreements.
"The client doesn't even know what's going on," the personsaid. The reason for the non-disclosure agreements was notclear, but underscore the sensitivity of the case.
Officials contacted by telephone at the Shanghaiprocuratorate and municipal intermediate courts said they didnot know about the case. There was no listing of the trial onAug. 7 or July 29 on an online docket for all of Shanghai'scourts.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond tofaxed requests for comment.
Chinese authorities last month charged Reilly and othercolleagues with corruption, after a government investigationfound the firm made billions of yuan from elaborate schemes tobribe doctors.
GSK's tangled web of problems in China were highlighted in alengthy draft report seen by Reuters. The report had beenprepared by ChinaWhys and presented to GSK on June 6 Last year.
The report into the origin of the video and emails did notreach a conclusion as to who was behind the actions.
Humphrey previously worked for Reuters in Asia, EasternEurope and the Balkans, according to the website of ChinaWhys. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ryan Woo)
