Home appliance tycoon Gu Chujun has submitted an appeal to his
12-year jail sentence delivered last month while another four
defendants involved in his case have also challenged a Guangdong
court's decisions.
Gu, Jiang Baojun, Yan Yousong, Zhang Xihan and Liu Yizhong all
have sent appeals to Guangdong Higher People's Court, China
Business News reported today.
Gu, 50, former chairman of Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holding
Co, was handed the prison term along with a fine of 6.8 million
yuan (US$944,445) for falsely stating the registered capital of a
company, failing to disclose major information and embezzling 313
million yuan, Foshan Intermediate People's Court ruled on January
30.
Gu, a native of Jiangsu Province, sent his appeal after the
court's decision that day, the report said.
Seven other defendants, who were high-ranking executives at
Kelon or its former parent Greencool Enterprise Development Co,
received jail terms ranging from one year to five years for their
involvement in the case.
Only one defendant, Zeng Junhong, a director of Kelon's purchase
center, was acquitted.
The Foshan court said Gu sent forged files to Shunde
Administration for Industry and Commerce by stating falsely that
Greencool's registered capital was 660 million yuan in order to
acquire Kelon, the country's biggest refrigerator maker, in
2001.
He also disclosed false financial information to the public to
prevent Shenzhen-listed Kelon from being delisted, which caused
huge losses to shareholders, the court said.
Gu and two senior officials embezzled 313 million yuan from
Kelon and Yaxing Motor Coach Company and injected the capital into
Gu's private company, the court said.
He was detained in 2005 with several other officials after the
China Securities Regulatory Commission started an investigation
into his misconduct.
Gu, once a celebrity entrepreneur who reportedly propelled Kelon
to become the forerunner in China's competitive white-goods sector,
started off as a researcher at Tianjin University in the 1980s.
Gu once told the court that he has information on "the biggest
corruption case since the foundation of the People's Republic of
China," according to previous reports.
(Shanghai Daily February 14, 2008)
