Stern Hu

Stern Hu (Chinese: 胡士泰; pinyin: Hú Shìtài; born 1963 in Tianjin) is an Australian businessman jailed in China after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes. Hu was formerly an executive of Rio Tinto mining group in Shanghai,[1] having graduated from Peking University before obtaining Australian citizenship in 1994.[2] He was released in July 2018 after serving eight years of a ten year prison sentence.[3]

Stern Hu
Born
Hu Shitai

1963 (age 59–60)
Tianjin, China
Nationality Australia
Other namesHu Shitai (胡士泰)
Alma materPeking University
Employerformerly Rio Tinto
Known forAustralian iron ore enterprise businessman jailed for stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes
TitleChief Representative in Shanghai, Hamersley Iron Chinese Regional Manager
SpouseJulie Hu

Conviction in China

On 5 July 2009, Hu and three Chinese colleagues were detained by the Chinese government.[4] On 29 March 2010, Hu was sentenced to ten years' jail after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes.[5]

According to China state media, data found stored on Hu's personal laptop allegedly contained confidential business information of several dozen major business partners of Rio Tinto, including storage levels and sales plans deemed much too specific and precise to have been acquired legitimately.[6][7][8] Hu was accused of having obtained such information through bribery and other illegal means for massive corporate and personal benefits.[7]

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a former diplomat to China, refused to intervene on a personal level,[9] and criticised the media and the opposition party for adding political bias to the issue. Australian authorities were granted access to Stern Hu, and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith subsequently declared that he was in good health.[10] After the trial, Rio Tinto terminated the employment of Hu and other convicted executives.[1] According to Rio Tinto's chief executive, the trial would not adversely affect any business connections.[11]

See also

References
  1. AAP, 29 March 2010, Rio Tinto fires Hu, other jailed execs, Yahoo!7 News
  2. Matt O'Sullivan (11 July 2009) "Stern Hu 'thrown to the wolves' ", The Sydney Morning Herald
  3. "Stern Hu: Australian former Rio Tinto executive released from Chinese jail Businessman served eight years in jail after conviction for corruption and stealing commercial secrets" The Guardian 4 July 2018
  4. Foreign Minister Media Release-Mr Stern Hu Archived 23 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, 9 July 2009
  5. John Garnaut & Sanghee Liu (29 March 2010) "Stern sentenced to 10 years by Chinese court ", The Age, Retrieved 29 March 2010
  6. Chinese Sina News
  7. Chinese Sina News 14 July 2009
  8. Zhang Qi & Tong Hao (15 July 2009) "'Bribery is widespread' in Rio case ", China Daily
  9. Rachel Pannett & Alex Wilson (14 July 2009) "Australia Presses China Diplomat on Worker Held " Wall Street Journal
  10. AAP (11 July 2009) "Stern Hu in good health ", The Sydney Morning Herald
  11. AAP, 29 March 2010, China bond won't be broken: Rio Tinto Archived 1 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Yahoo!7 News
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