DistantNews
Support us
🇻🇳 Vietnam /Crime & Justice

52 Singaporeans Arrested in China Over Alleged Multilevel Marketing Activities

From Tuổi Trẻ · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Under investigation
  • Singapore said Chinese authorities detained 52 Singaporean citizens in Guangxi during a law-enforcement operation targeting suspected multilevel marketing activities.
  • Singaporean diplomats have visited the detainees three times and offered consular assistance, while Singapore said it would not interfere in China’s investigation.
  • Chinese authorities said they were handling the case according to law, but officials have not disclosed details about the investigation or whether others were detained.

Singapore says 52 of its citizens are being held in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region over alleged involvement in multilevel marketing activities. The detention could be the largest number of Singaporeans held overseas in a single case, according to The Straits Times.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and police disclosed the case in a joint statement on Sept. 4. They said the 52 people were detained during a Chinese law-enforcement operation targeting suspected multilevel marketing and related violations. Chinese authorities are continuing to investigate, while Singapore police have contacted their counterparts in China for more information.

While providing consular assistance to the affected Singaporean citizens, I want to emphasize that the Singapore government does not interfere in the judicial and investigative processes of other countries, and we expect foreign governments to respect Singapore’s laws and legal processes

· Sim AnnSim described Singapore’s position while discussing assistance for the detained citizens.

Sim Ann, a senior official at Singapore’s foreign and home affairs ministries, said Singapore’s embassy in Beijing and consulate general in Guangzhou had visited the detainees three times to check on their situation and provide consular support. She said Singapore would continue monitoring the case and stressed that its citizens must receive due legal process.

The Singapore government will continue to closely follow the case and emphasize that our citizens must be assured due legal process

· Sim AnnSim said Singapore would continue monitoring the investigation.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing in Beijing that China handles cases involving foreign citizens according to the law and fully protects their legitimate rights and interests. Singaporean authorities have not released details about the case or the state of the investigation. It is also unclear whether Chinese citizens or other foreigners were detained.

People suspected of criminal activity in China can generally be held for up to 37 days before prosecutors decide whether to approve an arrest. Investigations and evidence collection can then last from two to seven months.

China handles cases involving foreign citizens according to the law and fully protects the legitimate rights and interests of those involved

· Guo JiakunChina’s Foreign Ministry response to questions about the detentions.
About this summary

Originally published by Tuổi Trẻ in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog