Ensure fair trial for GSK probe pair, Foreign Correspondents' Club urges Beijing

The Foreign Correspondents' Club has called on Beijing to ensure a fair trial for two of its members accused of illegally buying and selling private information.

The club came out in support of Peter Humphrey and Yu Yingzeng, who will go on trial in Shanghai next month over investigations they carried out for scandal-hit British pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.

"Transparency is a cornerstone of the judicial process and a fair trial is a fundamental human right," the club said. "The FCC Hong Kong stands by the international community, which has expressed concern about the secrecy of proceedings, and welcomes reports that the trial will now be held in public."

Humphrey, a 58-year-old Briton, and mainland-born American Yu, 61, ran ChinaWhys, a risk consultancy that helped corporate clients screen potential partners and employees and watched others for embezzlement and other misconduct.

The pair were hired to investigate a former employee suspected of sending anonymous e-mails including one containing an intimate video of former GlaxoSmithKline China head Mark Reilly and his girlfriend.

GlaxoSmithKline is accused of funnelling up to three billion yuan (HK$3.8 billion) through travel agencies to bribe doctors to prescribe its medications.