Australian Casino Company’s Employees Face Charges in China

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Australian Casino Company’s Employees Face Charges in China

If convicted, the Crown workers could face several years in prison.

One of those workers is Jiang Ling. Her husband, Jeff Sikkema, said in an interview on Tuesday that she had been released on bail, but he said he had not heard about the charges until Crown made its disclosure. He said his wife had been released on a bond of about $7,400 after being detained for almost two months.

“The whole thing has been ugly, just a bad situation,” said Mr. Sikkema, who works at a logistics company in Shanghai. “For my wife — who does admin stuff, makes hotel reservations, processes visas — how is that possibly involved with gambling?”

Still, Mr. Sikkema said, they were hopeful that she would not spend time in prison.

“My understanding is it’s unlikely she’ll go back to jail,” he said. “The worst possible thing for her would be to have a suspended sentence, which will give her a criminal record.”

The Chinese authorities have broad powers to detain those suspected of crimes and to hold them after their arrests. In China, criminal charges almost always result in convictions, according to official data.

“The Australian government continues to provide consular assistance to three Australian Crown employees detained in Shanghai since 14 October,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.

Crown Resorts, one of Australia’s largest gambling companies, operates casinos in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Perth as well as in London, Macau and Manila.

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