Chinese state television yesterday aired a highly unusual public confession from a British fraud investigator detained for several weeks in the midst of a corruption probe into the activities of multinational pharmaceutical companies in China.
Disgraced public officials accused of crimes in China frequently make such apologies, but broadcasting one from a foreigner on national TV is very unusual, legal experts said.
China Central Television broadcast a video showing Peter Humphrey, one of the country’s best known corporate investigators, and his wife wearing handcuffs and orange prison vests within what appeared to be a police station. State print and broadcast media carried stories yesterday saying that Mr Humphrey and his wife and professional partner, Yu Yingzeng, who is a US citizen, had been arrested for illegally buying and selling the personal information of Chinese citizens for profit.