Former Jianlibao chairman Zhang Hai flees China
January 22, 2014 Leave a comment
Former Jianlibao chairman Zhang Hai flees China
Staff Reporter
2014-01-21
Former Jianlibao chairman Zhang Hai. (Photo/CNS)
Officials in southern China’s Guangdong province have confirmed that Zhang Hai, the former chairman of energy drink manufacturer Jianlibao Group, has fled the country after submitting fabricated evidence to receive a reduced sentence, reports the Shanghai-based National Business Daily.The procuratorate of Guangdong province said on Jan. 20 that Zhang, who was convicted of embezzlement in 2007, fled China a little more than two years after his conditional release from prison.
Zhang was initially sentenced to 15 years by the Foshan City Intermediate People’s Court, though a year later the term was cut by five years after he provided police with evidence to solve a house robbery case. The Guangdong Provincial Higher People’s Court said last Friday, however, that Zhang fabricated the evidence and should never have had his sentence reduced.
Instead, Zhang was released conditionally in 2011. A retrial last October in Guangdong revoked the commutation of Zhang’s sentence, which led to his disappearance and subsequent flight to an unknown overseas location.
The Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily reported in November last year that Zhang bribed Foshan officials 180,000 yuan (US$28,750) in return for the clues that earned him the reduced sentence.
The Foshan-based Jianlibao Group was once considered on par with Coca-Cola and Pepsi in China during the 1990s with their popular Jianlibao drink, but since Zhang’s downfall has struggled to regain market share due to its tarnished brand.
The company has splurged on promotional and sponsorship deals in recent years, spending 80 million yuan (US$13.2 million) on the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and another 300 million yuan last year (US$49.6 million) for prime time advertising spots on national broadcaster CCTV. The beverage maker has also secured a major advertising deal for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Industry insiders say, however, that Jianlibao’s brand recognition, sales and production capabilities remain weak and that it will be extremely difficult for the company to return to its former glory.
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