Battle to free jailed man eats up family funds
An elderly woman is facing financial ruin after one of her two sons-in-law was sued by the other and jailed on the mainland in a family business dispute.
Leung Lau Yuet-bing, 75, said she had travelled 36 times to the mainland since her eldest son-in-law, Chau Tai-lun, 55, was detained three years ago and later jailed in Guangxi province.
Chau was convicted of pocketing millions of dollars from his employer, who was his brother-in-law, Mrs Leung said. He was sentenced to 12 years last year but the jail term was reduced to eight years on appeal in February. Mrs Leung is planning to appeal to the Government for her son-in-law to be transferred to the SAR for a new trial.
She said she had to travel 18 hours to Guangxi almost every month to help her son-in-law launch legal proceedings. Her daughter, 53, moved to Guangxi three years ago to care for her husband during prison visits.
'We have hired six or seven lawyers, who have already cost me tens of thousands of dollars. The amount almost ate up all my savings,' Mrs Leung said.'We are already very desperate. It does not seem possible to save my son-in-law.'
She said Chau was hired to run a building materials factory in Guangxi in 1993, an investment which cost the family $14 million. But the factory could not operate because it was not given permits by the various authorities. Chau was sued by his brother-in-law for the failed business.
Mrs Leung claimed some of the money Chau was convicted of pocketing was used to bribe officials and, therefore, could not be recorded in company accounts. 'Chau is innocent. He is an honest man whom I have known for nearly 40 years. He was the younger brother of my husband's good friend. I have known Chau since he was 17. I was happy my daughter married him,' she said.
'I am furious. Mainland authorities used all means to attract foreign investment. But no one could believe the result would be so tragic. There is no guarantee for the investment. In a joint venture, usually Hong Kong people or foreign investors are the ones who get into trouble.'
Hong Kong's Security Bureau figures show 61 SAR residents are in detention or awaiting trial, while 50 are serving prison sentences on the mainland.
