A British corporate investigator imprisoned in China for nearly two years has said he was "harassed" for a confession, in a claim immediately denied by the Chinese foreign ministry.
"I was constantly harassed in prison over signing a thing that they call admission of guilt and a statement of remorse," Peter Humphrey was quoted as saying by The BBC after being deported to Britain yesterday.
"I never signed those documents because I did not admit to having committed that offence... Therefore they tried to extort the confession by withholding medical attention for my prostate condition," he said.
Lu Kang, a foreign ministry spokesman, denied Humphrey's claims at a regularly scheduled press briefing in Beijing today.
"The relevant Chinese authorities carried out their duties in accordance with the law. We have protected his lawful rights and interests," Lu said.
Humphrey and his wife Yu Yingzeng, a naturalised US citizen, were linked to a corruption case involving pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
The couple ran an investigative firm which was hired by GSK to probe a sex tape of the company's then China boss and other issues shortly before the British pharmaceutical company itself became the target of a Chinese government investigation.
Humphrey, who is suffering from health problems, was released seven months early after being sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison by a Shanghai court in August last year. Time served in detention was counted towards the jail term.
Yu was freed a month early after serving nearly all of her two-year term.
