(Adds British consulate statement, GSK no comment, context)
By John Ruwitch
SHANGHAI, June 9 (Reuters) - A British corporateinvestigator linked to a bribery scandal in China involvingdrugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC is to be released earlyfrom a 2 1/2-year sentence in a Chinese jail, a source close tohis family said on Tuesday.
Peter Humphrey and his American wife, Yu Yingzeng, weresentenced in August last year for illegally obtaining privaterecords of Chinese citizens and selling the information on toclients including GSK.
The source, who declined to be identified, said Humphrey hadbeen informed on Tuesday by a Shanghai court that his sentencewould be reduced by seven months. He had originally beenexpected to be released in January next year.
The case was intertwined with an investigation of GSK inChina which rocked the country's pharmaceutical market and ledto a $489 million fine against the firm last year for payingbribes to doctors to use its drugs.
Humphrey is in a Shanghai hospital undergoing tests and theBritish consulate is processing an emergency passport for him,so he can be deported once he is released from hospital, thesource said.
It was not clear when Humphrey would officially be released.Yu, who was sentenced to two years in jail, will be freed incoming weeks.
"We have been notified by the Chinese authorities that aBritish national detained in China has been released. We areproviding consular assistance to the family," a spokesman forthe British consulate in Shanghai said.
Humphrey and Yu, who ran risk consultancy ChinaWhys, hadbeen asked by GSK to compile a report into the origins of a sexvideo involving its former China head Mark Reilly, which hadbeen sent to senior executives at the British firm along withanonymous emails alleging corruption.
On July 10, 2013, Chinese authorities detained Humphrey andYu. Days later police accused GSK of funnelling up to 3 billionyuan ($482 million) through travel agencies to bribe doctors andofficials in China.
A UK-based spokesman for GSK declined to comment on thereports that the couple are to be freed. Two lawyers who actedfor Humphrey and Yu last year said they were not aware of thedecision.
President Xi Jinping will travel to Britain for a statevisit in October, 10 years after the last such visit by aChinese president. (Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai and BenHirschler in London; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by AndrewRoche)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)
