Foreigners jailed for obtaining private data

Briton and Chinese-American wife convicted at landmark court hearing

A British citizen and his Chinese-American wife were convicted and sentenced to prison terms in Shanghai on Friday on charges of illegally obtaining private information of Chinese citizens. It is the first time that foreigners have been prosecuted for conducting an illegal investigation.

Peter Humphrey, 58, and his wife Yu Yingzeng, 61, were accused of being entrusted by Chinese and foreign clients to obtain background information from April 2009 to July 2013 through a consulting firm registered in Shanghai.