A British investigator once hired by scandal-hit pharmaceutical giant GSK in China has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for breaching privacy laws, a Shanghai court says.
Peter Humphrey and his American wife Yu Yingzeng were hired to investigate the source of a lurid sex tape of the China boss of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), shortly before the British firm became embroiled in bribery allegations.
"Defendant Peter William Humphrey who had committed the crime of illegally obtaining citizens' personal information was sentenced by the court to two years and six months in jail, with a fine of 200,000 yuan ($A35,000) and will be expelled from the country," a court official said, adding that his wife Yu would also be jailed.
"Both Humphrey and Yu Yingzeng said they regretted their actions and expressed their apologies when making their final statements," court spokeswoman Tang Liming added.
GSK is the most high-profile target of wide-ranging Chinese inquiries into foreign pharmaceutical firms, as Beijing also mounts probes into overseas companies in sectors ranging from cars to baby milk.
But at no point did prosecutors mention the British firm when questioning Humphrey or Yu on Friday, according to transcripts posted online by the court.
The couple's son, Harvey Humphrey, told AFP that he was "very sad" about the verdict.
"I did not expect the sentence to be that long. I thought they would be jailed but I did not expect it would be for that long," he said.
He also said that he hoped "the authorities will take into account my parent's poor health conditions", without giving details.
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