Canadian couple Kevin Garratt (2nd, right) and Julia Dawn Garratt (2nd, left) were charged with espionage in China. (Photo : www.sina.com.cn)
A Canadian woman accused of espionage has been released by the Chinese government after she filed for bail, while his husband is still under police custody for allegedly spying in the country.
According to reports, the woman identified as Julia Dawn Garratt is under investigation for allegedly attempting to undermine China's state security.
Meanwhile, her husband, Kevin Garratt, was detained for belief that he had been stealing and prying into state secrets.
The Christian couple, who had been managing a coffee shop in the Chinese city of Dandong, near the North Korean border, were arrested August last year and detained for six months.
After they were arrested, the State Security Bureau of Dandong in the northeastern province of Liaoning filed the appropriate charges for each of the two.
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei released a statement to the press regarding the woman who reportedly had been temporarily set free "pending trial" on Tuesday after she filed for bail in accordance with the law and the suspect' civil rights.
Her husband, however, was detained the same day his wife was released because of allegedly "spying and stealing state secrets" from the country.
The couple's coffee shop "has a view of traffic flowing across the Yalu River," says a report from The Globe & Mail.
They are also involved in a tour business where they help people plan their visits in the country.
The couple reportedly have three children and had resided in Dandong for at least six years.
In a similar case filed July last year, a British corporate investigator, identified as Peter Humphrey, and his wife, Yu Yingzeng, were detained for "illegally obtaining private information," Sina English reported.
