The wife of last year's richest man on China's mainland has been placed under police surveillance in Beijing for alleged involvement in business crimes, according to Caijing Magazine.

Du Juan was reportedly taken back to Beijing by police before Christmas after an investigation began into the financial activities of her husband, Huang Guangyu, more than a month ago.

She was rumored to have fled when Huang was placed in custody in November over suspicion of illegal share trading.

Details on the police surveillance were not revealed in yesterday's report.

Huang, also known as Wong Kwong Yu, used to be chairman of China's largest home appliance retailer Gome Group and Hong Kong-listed Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd.

A Gome statement said Du had quit the board of directors after Huang came under police investigation. Her other posts in the group were also terminated, Beijing-based Caijing quoted the statement as saying.

Du, 36, met Huang when she was a clerk at the Bank of China's Beijing Branch. She married Huang in 1996, and the couple had three children.

Du served as Gome's executive director from August 2002.

She played an important role in setting up a joint fund with The Bear Stearns Companies Inc in March 2007.

Gome removed Huang after his detention. Gome's shares were suspended from trading in Hong Kong on November 24.

(Shanghai Daily January 7, 2009)