Verdict called reassuring to businesses

The Supreme People's Court said on Wednesday that it hopes the verdict in the retrial of former business tycoon Gu Chujun will offer entrepreneurs the assurance that their property rights are protected by the law.

The SPC First Circuit Court commuted on Wednesday the original sentence of the 60-year-old from 10 years in prison to five and dropped two of the three charges.

The high-profile retrial comes amid what officials have called plans to correct errors in other mishandled cases related to property rights.

The charges against Gu constituted one of the highest profile cases of its kind. Forbes magazine ranked him as China's 20th richest man in 2001.

The retrial came after Gu filed a petition with the top court.

In 2008, Gu was sentenced to 10 years in prison based on guilty verdicts in three crimes - falsely reporting registered capital, falsifying and withholding information and embezzlement - at the Foshan Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province. Before he was arrested in 2005, he controlled five listed companies, including Greencool Technology and Kelon, which were well-known appliance manufacturers in China.

Gu appealed, but the Guangdong High People's Court upheld the ruling in 2009. Soon after Gu's release in September 2012, after his sentence was reduced, he petitioned the top court to hear the case, insisting on his innocence.

The two-day retrial, which lasted 25 hours, started on June 13, 2018, at the SPC's First Circuit Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong. On Wednesday, the court found him guilty only of one crime - embezzling 290 million yuan ($43.2 million) - and sentenced him to five years in prison, which he has already served. Since Gu was in prison longer than five years, he can apply for government compensation, which was explained to him by the court.

According to the verdict, evidence has clearly shown that the money that Gu embezzled was from Kelon and that it was used to register a private company under his name.

The move damaged the property rights of Kelon's legal entities and shareholders. Gu's action severely upset the order of the capital market, said Pei Xianding, the chief judge, when delivering the verdict on Wednesday.

The court overturned the incorrect charges and affirmed the one original charge that was accurate, upholding justice and showing the importance of obeying the law in business activities, the SPC said in a statement after the new verdict was delivered.

In December 2017, the SPC announced its decision to rehear three major cases related to property ownership, including Gu's case.

It is rare for the SPC to initiate retrials, so Gu's case has drawn a lot of attention from the public. Also, prosecutors admitted that the evidence for falsely reporting registered capital and falsifying and withholding information was relatively weak. But they said the evidence supporting one of the Gu's two embezzlement actions was very clear and strong. So prosecutors fiercely challenged Gu's legal team during the retrial, said Chen Yongsheng, a professor at Peking University's Law School.

"The prosecutors have been very responsible by sticking to the evidence and being impartial toward all of the charges. Overturning a conviction that is correct in the first place is just as harmful as not correcting wrongful convictions," Chen said.

The retrial, livestreamed on the SPC's website, sent positive signals to the public that property rights will be protected by the law, which is very important in encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, observers said.

In the next step, the top court said it will continue correcting misjudged cases related to property rights, not only in the criminal sector but also in civil and administrative areas.

The SPC is also reviewing judicial interpretations and legal documents to update or abolish provisions that fail to offer equal protection for all economic entities.