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Coca-Cola says Chinese ex-employee in police probe

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-13 19:20

BEIJING: A former employee of a Coca-Cola Co. bottling plant in China has been detained by police, a company official said Sunday, amid news reports that the person was being investigated for allegedly accepting bribes of almost $1.5 million.

Kenth Kaerhoeg, a Coca-Cola spokesman in Hong Kong, confirmed the detention of a former employee of the company's Shanghai bottling plant, run by Shenmei Beverage and Food Co., but did not give details.

Kaerhoeg said in an e-mailed statement that Shenmei is "actively cooperating with the police investigation in strict compliance with relevant laws and regulations."

State media reports in recent days said police detained the former employee, surnamed Zhu, who worked in Shenmei's marketing department, two weeks ago in a corruption investigation.

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Zhu is suspected of accepting bribes of more than 10 million yuan ($1.47 million), said a report on the Web site of the China Economic Daily, citing an unidentified person familiar with the case. The story did not say when Zhu allegedly took the bribes or what they were for.

The story said Shenmei terminated Zhu's contract "in accordance with Chinese law" after the case was made known.

Calls to Shenmei's office in Shanghai rang unanswered Sunday. A duty officer at the Shanghai public security bureau referred questions to the bureau's information office, which was closed.

Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, is the world's largest beverage maker and operates 38 bottling plants in China, employing more than 30,000 people.