Sixteen of 19 employees from casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd detained by mainland Chinese authorities in 2016 have been given jail sentences by a Shanghai court, said the company in a filing following a judicial hearing on Monday. The defendants had been charged with gambling-related crimes.
Zhai Jian, described by Reuters news agency as a lawyer for the defendants, was quoted saying all had pled guilty.
Three of the 19, namely defendants that were bailed on November 11, 2016, were not fined or sentenced to a period of incarceration, Crown Resorts said. The 19 dealt with at Monday’s hearing comprised 17 current and two former employees of Crown Resorts, including three Australian citizens. READ HERE: CROWN RESORTS, 14 CHINESE EMPLOYEES NOW FACING THE CHARGES AFTER BEING CAPTURE SINCE 2016
Of the 16 people handed jail terms, 11 were sentenced to a period of incarceration of 9 months and five to a period of 10 months. The sentences were backdated to October 2016 when the defendants were first detained by Chinese authorities, meaning they only have a few more weeks to serve as now-convicted prisoners.
The 16 jailed defendants were also collectively fined a total of RMB8.62 million (US$1.26 million). The amount is being paid “ex gratia” by Crown Resorts, the firm said in the filing to the Australian Securities Exchange following the court hearing
In Monday’s filing, Crown Resorts said it remained “respectful of the sovereign jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China”. The company said that, at this time, it would not be commenting further on the matter.
