Chinese political prisoner freed from Australian jail eight years early after wife got cancer and child died
Matthew Ng, the first Australian to benefit from a prisoner-swap deal with China, was jailed for 13 years in 2011 on bribery, embezzlement charges
![Australia’s first Chinese political prisoner Matthew Ng was released on Wednesday on compassionate grounds after he was transferred from China to Australia in 2014. Photo: SCMP Pictures](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/images/methode/2016/06/15/198b4b44-32c5-11e6-b997-a8e2995ff455_1280x720.jpg?itok=wm0f4NzP)
An Australian businessman jailed in China on bribery and embezzlement charges before being sent home to serve out his sentence was released on Wednesday on compassionate grounds.
Matthew Ng, who worked for travel services group Et-China in the southern city of Guangzhou, was jailed for 13 years in 2011 in a case that drew top level interest in Canberra.
Chinese media at the time said the case related to Ng’s role in Et-China’s battle with a government-owned travel company for control of domestic travel agency GZL.
In 2014 Ng, who denied the charges, became the first Australian to benefit from a prisoner-swap deal between the two countries.
Australia’s department of foreign affairs has previously warned that any early release could negatively affect future cases, but Justice Minister Michael Keenan said there were “exceptional circumstances”.
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