Judgements against tycoons must be able to pass retrial test

Editor's note: The Supreme People's Court's First Circuit Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, announced on Wednesday that the sentence of Gu Chujun, former chairman of the refrigerator maker Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings, had been commuted to five years in prison. China Daily reporter Wu Yixue comments:

The retrial of Gu for falsely reporting registered capital, illegal disclosure and non-disclosure of important information, and misappropriation of funds, marks the judicial authorities' major step toward protecting property rights and other legitimate rights and interests of businesspeople like Gu.

Gu, ranked by Forbes magazine as China's 20th richest man in 2001, was arrested in 2005 on the charges of embezzlement of State assets in mergers and acquisitions, and falsifying and withholding the information of listed companies. He was given a 10-year prison sentence by Foshan Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong and fined 6.8 million yuan ($1.06 million). He appealed, but Guangdong's Provincial High People's Court maintained the ruling in 2009. Insisting on his innocence, Gu petitioned the supreme court to have his conviction overturned soon after his release in September 2012. The top court reviewed his case and decided to consider it at the end of 2017. Although, Gu was cleared of the false reporting and illegal disclosure, he was found guilty of misappropriation of funds.