Businessman ‘could get 25 years in prison if convicted’
One of the mainland’s most outspoken businessmen could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on a range of charges against him, his legal team said yesterday.
Rural entrepreneur Sun Dawu is accused of provoking trouble and disturbing public order, illegal mining, encroachment on state farmland, obstructing public service and illegal fundraising, among other charges, prosecutors in Gaobeidian in Hebei province said in a document last week.
The document also listed the charges against 19 other people who were detained with Sun in November over a land dispute between his Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group and a state farm. A source in the legal team, who requested anonymity because they were warned not to speak to the media, said prosecutors asked for Sun’s eldest son Sun Meng to be jailed for 16 years and Sun’s brother Sun Zhihua to be jailed for 11 years.
The source said they expected Sun could be sentenced to 20 years to 25 years.
“The defendants were surprised about the heavy sentencing suggestions and they have said that these [sentences] are unacceptable,” the source said. “We will do our best to defend them.” The source said the court was expected to set a trial date next week.
In an open letter, the legal team appealed to Dang Xiaolong, the Communist Party secretary of Baoding, which administers Gaobeidian, to reconsider the case against Sun and his group.
The letter, which was published online on Sunday, said many of the charges against Sun were common problems faced by private businesspeople in the mainland, who had to compete on an uneven playing field against state-owned businesses.
“If this case is not properly resolved, it would not be just a setback for Sun Dawu,” it said. “It would also be [a] setback for
Hebei and Baoding, and would certainly undermine the confidence of hard-working private businesspeople in the province.”
It said a heavy sentence for Sun would send the wrong signal at home and abroad with the centenary of the party in July.
“This year marks the centenary celebrations of the Communist Party … How this case is handled could easily be seen as a yardstick of how the central leadership sees private entrepreneurs,” it said.
“[A poor outcome] would … be detrimental to the centenary celebrations.”
Sun, 66, founded the Dawu Group in 1989 and has since built it into a huge empire spanning agriculture, tourism and health care. However, he was also vocal in criticising the authorities about the handling of the Covid-19 and African swine fever outbreaks.