A Sydney property investor at the centre of an $80 million dispute has been jailed for six weeks after wiping the memory of phones and a laptop subject to court-approved search.
The NSW Supreme Court on Friday said Xin "Ethan" He's conduct was among the "most serious class" of contempt for the court.
"I have concluded that the imposition of even a substantial fine is not an appropriate or available sentence," Justice Julie Ward said, describing the data deletion as "particularly egregious and contumacious" conduct.
Mr He was spared immediate incarceration after the court allowed him time to appeal the sentence, provided he hand over his passport and $200,000 as surety.
The Sydney businessman performed a factory reset on two phones and a laptop and dumped eight gigabytes in a trash folder on his iMac after legal and data experts arrived at his Warrawee home in November 2019 and served him with the search warrants.
Mr He said he didn't want the world "at large" to read or see his private data or pictures so stalled the experts at his gate and began deleting data en masse. He also refused to hand over all passwords for his online accounts.
"I realised that my private data is everywhere in my mobile and my iPad pro. I was very nervous," he said in an affidavit.
"I really did not want other people (to) see any of these things and it's very embarrassing, especially between me and other family members including my wife."
The experts had been authorised to search the home for devices by Justice Ward, who is hearing a civil case involving Mr He and a business partner.
Bo "Michael" Sun claims Mr He misappropriated nearly a quarter of the $80 million he gave to invest in Australia.
Mr He, who has filed a cross-claim, says $19.3m in cash actually came from a family loan and was never Mr Sun's.
Both men claimed the other had doctored records of their WeChat conversations.
Justice Ward, who found Mr He guilty in June of four counts of criminal contempt of court, said his actions were "calculated" to interfere with and frustrate legitimate investigations.
In sentencing on Friday, she placed weight on Mr He's unreserved apology but noted it was "very belated".
The suggestion the businessman's family in China could help him pay any financial penalty would, to some extent, "substantially undermine" the punitive effects of a fine, Justice Ward said.
Freezing orders on Mr He's finances also meant a fine on him could ultimately land on Mr Sun.
"It remains only to say that I have found this matter difficult and I have arrived at the conclusion which I have reached only after extensive reflection," she said.
"In short, I feel that there is no alternative in this case other than to impose a term of imprisonment."
Australian Associated Press