Last checked at 
* China case against GSK-linked investigator couple lodgedwith court
* Couple alleged to have illegally obtained privateinformation
* Humphrey apologises for breaking any Chinese law - stateTV
* Trial to begin behind closed doors on Aug. 7 - familyfriends (Adds comment from family member)
By Adam Jourdan
SHANGHAI, July 14 (Reuters) - Prosecutors in China havefiled charges against British investigator Peter Humphrey andhis American wife, the official Xinhua news agency said onMonday, after the couple were detained last year following workthey did for British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
The case against Humphrey and his wife, Yu Yingzeng, hasbecome a key piece in a long-running investigation into GSK,whose China executives have been charged with orchestrating awidespread network of bribery to promote sales.
The case against the couple, who have been accused ofillegally obtaining private information, has been formallylodged with the Shanghai Number One Intermediate People's Courtfor trial, Xinhua said in a report.
Two family friends with knowledge of the matter told Reutersthis month that the couple's trial was set for Aug. 7 and wouldbe closed to the public. The secrecy surrounding the trial hasraised concern among British and U.S. officials.
China's foreign ministry said last week the trial would behandled in accordance with the law.
ChinaWhys, the risk consultancy run by the couple, wasemployed by GSK in April 2013 to investigate an ex-employeesuspected of sending anonymous emails, including the circulationof an intimate video of former GSK China head Mark Reilly withhis girlfriend, as well as emails containing allegations ofwidespread bribery at the British drugmaker.
In an eight-minute news report aired on Monday by state runChina Central Television (CCTV), Humphrey said he and his wife"deeply regret" breaking any Chinese law. He added ChinaWhyswould not have worked with GSK if the drugmaker had informed himabout the full details of the whistleblower emails.
"It was certainly not our intention to violate Chinese law,"Humphrey, wearing an orange vest over his clothes, said in theinterview, which the state broadcaster said was conducted a fewdays ago in a Shanghai police station.
Humphrey's apology reiterated a similar statement he made toCCTV in August last year after the couple were arrested.
In an emailed statement sent to Reuters, the couple'steenage son, Harvey Humphrey, said he welcomed the increaseddisclosure of information surrounding the case.
"If China is prepared to release so much detail about myparents, I hope I can be given access to the trial and beallowed to see them for the first time in over a year," he said.
Xinhua said Humphrey and Yu had paid people in Beijing andShanghai to purchase personal information. Citing the prosecutoron the case, the news agency added that the couple had beenfully aware of the illegality of their actions.
Between 2009 and 2013, the couple illegally obtained privateinformation during investigations into close to a thousand firmsand a large number of private individuals, including householdregistration data, real estate and vehicle documents, as well asphone records, it added.
GSK officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Humphrey worked for Reuters as a journalist in the 1980s and90s. (Additional reporting by Hui Li; Editing by Kazunori Takada,Edwina Gibbs and Robert Birsel)
