China convicts Crown employees

A Chinese court has decided to convict the Crown employees that were charged with offenses related to gambling promotion.

China.- The Baoshan District Court has confirmed that nineteen Crown employees were convicted in the country on gambling-related charges. Sixteen of them were handled jail terms, as they all pleaded guilty.

Whilst the sentences vary between nine and ten months, sixteen of them could be released in the upcoming weeks, as they were arrested back in October and it represents time served. The Crown workers were also fined with a total of US$1.25 million, as AFP reported, whilst three of the nineteen were released under bail when they were first arrested last year.

“The Australian government has monitored this case very closely. We will be continuing to provide consular assistance to the Australians and their families for as long as that’s required,” said Graeme Meehan, Australian Consul General in Shanghai, as three of the convicted people are from his country.

Former partner of Crown Resorts and CEO of Melco International Lawrence Ho, has criticised a couple of weeks ago the decision of James Packer of being overly aggressive when engaging with employees in China despite the ban on gambling marketing.