Barbie Hsu’s mother-in-law sentenced to jail

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s mother-in-law, businesswoman Zhang Lan, has been sentenced to a year in jail after defying court orders.

Zhang Lan is the founder of South Beauty, a food and beverage company. A few years back, a dispute arose over the sales of the shares of the company, with the case being brought forward to the courts in Hong Kong.

In 2015, the courts issued an injunction against her, and froze all her monetary assets. In addition to that, the courts also prohibited Zhang Lan from transferring her assets to other people or selling them. She was also ordered to declare the accumulated value of all her monetary assets, be it in Hong Kong or abroad. Following the order, it was discovered that she had close to US$1.28 million (approximately S$1.73 million) to her name.

However, the courts later found that Zhang Lan had failed to declare over HK$500,00 (approximately S$86,406) worth of assets. In March last year, they ruled that the businesswoman had violated the previous order, and ordered her to appear in court for another hearing to explain her actions.

On the day of the hearing, Zhang Lan was a no-show. Her lawyer also did not plead for leniency on her behalf.

Thus, on the day of the final judgement, the judge found that Zhang Lan had deliberately misled the authorities and concealed her assets from them. As she had chosen not to explain her actions, despite being given opportunities to step up and appear in court, the courts sentenced her to a year in prison.

Photos: PBE Media

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