Singapore: British investigators and owners of ChinaWhys, Mr Peter Humphrey and his American wife Ms Yu Yingzeng stood for a public trial in China on August 8, 2014. Shocking revelations came about at the trial where the GSK-linked investigators are said to have not disputed accusations of breaching privacy laws.

Mr Peter Humphrey and his American wife Ms Yu Yingzeng were hired to investigate the source of a sex tape of the former head of GSK in China, shortly before the British firm became embroiled in bribery allegations. The couple were said to be accused of illegally obtaining more than 200 items of information on Chinese individuals, and then reselling it.

"Generally speaking, I don't dispute (the prosecutor's indictment)," Mr Peter Humphrey told the Number One People's Intermediate Court in Shanghai, the court said on a verified microblog account, as reported in the media. Further, it posted a picture of Mr Humphrey and Ms Yu facing a judge, each of them with an arm gripped by a uniformed official. The court added that at least one translator and three defence lawyers were present at the trial.

State media has cited legal experts saying that the maximum penalty for illegally obtaining and trading personal information is three years in prison.

Chinese authorities are also probing many other foreign pharmaceutical firms over pricing and other issues.

GSK has been accused of resorting to corruption and bribery to promote sales of its drugs in the Chinese market. The Chinese police in May had announced the arrest of its former China head Mr Mark Reilly on charges that he ordered employees to commit bribery.

ChinaWhys was reportedly hired by GSK in April last year to look into the origin of a covertly filmed video of Mr Reilly. In August last year, Mr Humphrey and his wife, who worked as ChinaWhys' general manager were arrested.