China releases Crown employees, Australian remains behind bars

ONE Australian Crown Resorts employee remains behind bars in China after the release of 10 staff and associates on Wednesday.

Following the arrests of 19 Crown Resorts staff and former employees in Shanghai for gambling-related crimes, the saga is finally coming to an end.

The 10 Crown Resorts employees have been released from jail on July 12 after serving their nine-month sentence for the unlawful promotion of gambling.

The 19 Crown employees and associates went to trial on June 26 at the Baoshan District People’s Court, where 11 received fines and jail time of nine to 10 months, while five others received fines only.

The three employees, who have not been fined or sentenced to a period of incarceration, worked as junior staff for the Australian casino operator and were not directly involved.

Australians Jerry Xuan and Jane Pan Dan are among the 10 who have been freed, along with two others, after serving their nine-month sentences. They left immediately without speaking to media.

The six others have been released from another facility in Shanghai, a lawyer for the families revealed. It is not clear whether they are among the group sentenced to prison or whether they are among the group that received fines only.

As a result, the remaining detained employees who are serving their 10-month sentence, including Head of VIP operations at Crown, Jason O’Connor, and another Senior Executive will be released next month.

The case resulted in $1.67 million in fines for James Packer’s Crown Resorts.

The employees and former staff members were convicted of breaching Article 303, Clause 1 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, which prohibits individuals from promoting gambling in the country for the sole purpose of making profits.

The maximum sentence for breaching the law is three years.

They were also convicted under Article 25, Clause 1 whereby “a joint crime is an intentional crime committed by two or more persons jointly.”

A number of industry insiders, including Packer’s former partner and CEO of Melco Crown, Lawrence Ho, stated the employees had disrespected Chinese Law.

But a University of New South Wales law lecturer, Dr Jeanne Huang, spoke to ABC News, revealing that the case is unlikely to impact Australian and Chinese relations.

“This is not a special case or particularly targeted [at] Australian companies,” she said.

“In recent years the Chinese Government, Chinese court has taken comprehensive activities to deter Chinese citizens from using public money to gamble outside China.

“We see cases against Singaporean companies, cases against South Korean companies, so there are a lot of similar cases going around.”

Given the maximum sentence, Dr Huang said the sentences were relatively moderate.

“If you put all the scenarios together, this judgement is a very cautious judgement and the court did not [give] three years, which is the maximum length for this kind of offence,” she said.

“So I think nine months or 10 months are very reasonable and cautious.

“It complies with Chinese law and it also shows respect to Australia and China’s relationship.”

Since the group were arrested in China last October, Crown Resorts has scrapped projects in China. Packer even sold his shares in Melco Crown.