Mountie on Trial for Alleged Chinese Coercion

0:00It's April 27. Welcome in. This is Canada News Today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. Former Mounty William Mosher is on trial in Vancouver's British Columbia Supreme Court for allegedly preparing to coerce a local real estate mogul. On behalf of the Chinese government, he's spacing one charge under Canada's Security of Information Act pleaded not guilty back on April 20th, and it's a judge alone trial with no. Once evidence called, the Crown's case hinges on a June 2017 email where Mosher called someone a crook and said he wanted to impress upon them that they held. The keys to his future. Prosecutors claim this targeted Kevin Sun, who's alleged fraud matched the details and that Mosher stepped in after the RCMP backed off helping. Chinese authorities. Defense lawyer Craig Donaldson slammed the evidence as purely circumstantial, arguing the email, never named Sun, and it would be unsafe to assume it, was about him.

1:00He stressed that pursuing fraudsters living off crime proceeds in Canada serves the public interest and pulling a few sentences out of context. Doesn't prove criminal intent. Earlier rulings already dinged the case, finding Mosher's 2023 airport arrest lacked probable grounds and violated his charter rights. Plus a search warrant on another ex-Mounty's home was invalid. Following this up, the judge now weighs if those emails cross into coercion for a foreign power with a verdict that could set precedence on foreign interference right here on Canadian soil.