South Australian man desperate to help save his brother from death row

THE brother of a South Australian man held in a Chinese prison for drug smuggling says vital information that could help his appeal against a death sentence is being withheld by a leading supermarket chain.

• Former jockey charged with drug smuggling in China
• Bannister facing death sentence over drugs

THE brother of a South Australian man sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling says vital information that could help his appeal against a death sentence is being withheld by a leading supermarket chain.

James Bannister says he has been given “the runaround” by Woolworth’s PR department as he seeks information to prove his that his brother, Anthony Bannister, worked at several Big W stores across SA just prior to his arrest in March last year.

Anthony Bannister was charged with attempting to smuggle 3kg of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, from China to Australia.

The former SA jockey — who has strong links to many well-known names in the racing industry — faced trial in China in October.

The prosecution claimed the primary motivation for him to attempt to import drugs worth more than $1 million, stuffed in eight ladies’ handbags packed in his luggage, was because he was unemployed and desperate for money.

“I’m up to dealing with about the 18th different person at Big W and all I’m told is they can’t release employment information without Anthony’s signature,” a frustrated Mr Bannister told The Advertiser.

“I keep telling them where he is and how difficult it is to communicate with him, but they don’t get the message. I’m not looking for anything that personal — just proof of employment.”

Mr Bannister says his brother worked at Big W stores in Port Augusta, Elizabeth and most recently at Kilkenny, where he held a position of responsibility.

Anthony Bannister as an apprentice jockey in 1993.

Woolworths terminated Anthony’s contract at the end of March, 2014, two weeks after he was taken into custody at China’s Guangzhou airport.

“I have character references from his old bosses and from top jockeys about his good character but getting his employment records could be a big deal,” Mr Bannister said.

“All I need on ‘Big W’ letterhead is that he worked here and here and that they terminated his employment only because he failed to turn up to work.”

A spokesman for Woolworths would not confirm if Anthony Bannister was a former employee of the company or whether it had spoken with his brother.

“We wouldn’t discuss with a journalist our dealings with a former employee or the relative of a former employee,” he said.

Found guilty at trial, Bannister received a “suspended death sentence” that means if he commits no crimes in prison during the next two years, his death sentence can be commuted to life in prison with hard labour.

His brother said the release in Hong Kong last month of a number of foreign nationals accused of drug smuggling had raised his hopes for a similar outcome for Anthony.

A pensioner and a mother from Melbourne, both caught carrying more than $2 million worth of drugs bound for Australia, were among six people who had their charges dropped in a landmark ruling after claiming they were the victims of sophisticated online scams.

The six spent up to 19 months in jail but were released by Hong Kong’s High Court after prosecutors offered no evidence.

“A lot of them got scammed the same way Anthony was when going to meet women they had met online to sort out finances,” he said.

“I was really hopeful at first but Hong Kong and China are very different places.”

The Federal Government has extended Anthony a loan to pay for legal and imprisonment fees that are mounting in China.

He is held in a detention centre awaiting the appeal hearing and is still not permitted to speak to his brother. They last spoke on the day of his arrest more than 20 months ago.

Their only contact has been through Bannister’s Chinese lawyers and officers from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

No firm date is set for the appeal but the family believes it will be sometime in the New Year.