中国正式逮捕3名澳大利亚博彩公司员工

SYDNEY — The Chinese authorities have formally arrested three Australian employees of the casino operator Crown Resorts who had been detained in mid-October in an investigation into the promotion of gambling in China.

悉尼——中国当局已正式逮捕了赌场运营商皇冠度假酒店集团的三名澳大利亚员工，他们于10月中旬在中国遭到拘留，当时当局正在对博彩推广活动展开调查。

The three, who were not named in a short news release on Wednesday by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, were detained along with 15 other Crown Resorts employees after police raids in China on Oct. 13 and 14.

在本周三发布的一份简短的新闻稿中，澳大利亚外交和贸易部没有透露这三人的姓名。10月13日和14日，他们在中国警方的突查行动中与其他15名皇冠度假酒店员工一起被拘留。

In China, the police can hold people in custody without placing them under arrest or filing charges.

在中国，警方可以在没有逮捕或控罪的情况下拘禁一个人。

The Australian government has now been formally notified of the arrest of three Australian Crown employees on suspicion of gambling offenses, the statement said.

澳大利亚政府已经获得正式通知，这三名雇员因涉嫌赌博罪被逮捕。

It added that consular officials had visited the Australians in Shanghai, but it gave no details about the remaining 15 employees.

声明还表示，上海总领事馆的官员已经去探望了这些澳大利亚人，但没有详细说明其他15名雇员的情况。

The local news media reported that one Crown employee had been released.

当地的新闻媒体报道说，其中一名雇员已被释放。

Crown Resorts, one of Australia’s largest hotel and casino companies, has operations in Melbourne and Perth and has plans to open a huge casino resort on Sydney’s harbor.

皇冠集团是澳大利亚最大的博彩公司之一，在墨尔本和珀斯开展业务，并且计划在悉尼港口开设一个大型赌场度假村。

It also has casinos in London, Macau and Manila.

该公司在伦敦、澳门和马尼拉也设有赌场。

A company spokeswoman declined to comment on the arrests.

公司发言人对逮捕事件拒绝置评。

Details of the charges the Australians may face will not be known until later in the legal process.

这些澳大利亚人可能面临的指控细节，要随着法律程序的进行才能得知。

Chinese law allows those arrested to be held in custody throughout.

根据中国法律，警方可以在整个过程中一直扣押被逮捕人。

Casinos are not allowed to advertise in mainland China, where gambling is illegal, but Crown and other companies can promote high-end resorts and other tourist attractions.

在中国大陆，赌博是非法的，不允许赌场做广告，但皇冠和其他公司可以推广高端度假村和其他旅游景点。

They also frequently offer big-spending gamblers help in obtaining visas, and free hotel rooms, chartered jets and private gambling as inducements to visit.

他们还经常为高消费赌徒提供签证协助、免费酒店客房、包机和私人博彩服务，诱导他们前往消费。