Businessman to appeal 13-year bribery sentence

Chinese Australian businessman Matthew Ng is expected to appeal a 13-year prison sentence handed on Tuesday by Chinese authorities for bribery and embezzlement, the Australian government said on Tuesday.

Ng was charged in relation to commercial disputes between Et-China and GZL International Travel Service. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard mentioned the case when she met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in April.

"We have made clear to Chinese authorities our strong interest in Mr. Ng's case," a representative of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in e-mailed remarks, confirming Ng's sentence, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Australian officials in Guangzhou are providing Ng and his family with consular assistance, the department said, according to the report.

Calls by the Global Times on Tuesday to Australia's Ambassador to China Frances Adamson and the Australian Consulate General in Guangzhou went unanswered.

"I'm not clear about the case," Zhang Hong, manager of public affairs at the embassy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.