The Federal Government is being urged to show leniency to Matthew Ng, the prisoner transferred from China in a hard-won deal that now has him serving out the remainder of an 11.5-year sentence at Sydney's Silverwater jail.

Key points: Matthew Ng sentenced in China to 11.5 years' jail on charges of fraud and bribery

Matthew Ng sentenced in China to 11.5 years' jail on charges of fraud and bribery Ng was transferred to Australia in 2014 under deal that would see him complete sentence here

Ng was transferred to Australia in 2014 under deal that would see him complete sentence here Lawyers say Ng is a 'political prisoner' and no crime was committed

After a commercial dispute with a Communist-owned enterprise, the entrepreneur was found guilty of fraud and bribery and served four years in a Chinese prison before being transferred to Australia in 2014.

Ng's 14-year-old daughter died in that time and his wife is now seriously ill, leaving the father-of-three desperate for release so he can care for his family.

Ng's wife Nikki Chow has been trying to hold it together for their children since her husband's imprisonment.

"It's really harsh. There's a moment I broke down and cried but crying doesn't help. I put everything into protecting my children and not let anything hurt them," she told Lateline.

The family had welcomed Ng's 2014 transfer to Australia and the prospect of leniency from the Federal Government.

"Me and my kids were very happy that he's being transferred back here. I hoped that he could be released earlier so he could get back to his normal life and be with the kids in their growing up," she said.

His friend David Marquard, who studied with Ng at the University of New South Wales, has been visiting the former businessman in jail and says he is distraught at what may happen to his family.

"He is not in a very good space. His wife has been hospitalised recently and is not very mobile and he's very stressed about looking after his children," he said.

"You can see the tears in his eyes. He's continually trying to bottle down the emotions but you can see the pain and the stress."

Ng's lawyer Tom Lennox said his client was Australia's first Chinese political prisoner.

"A fair description of Matthew can be as Australia's first Chinese political prisoner — that is, the subject of a state-imposed sanction whereby your liberty is denied for circumstances that would not constitute a crime on any reasonable test," he said.

Dreams of building Chinese travel business

Matthew Ng is asking the Government to let him have his life back. ( Supplied )

In the late 1990s, after graduating with a masters of business administration, Ng had headed back to his homeland with his wife and their growing family, with the dream of starting a travel business in China's booming economy.

The company he established, ET China, was about to expand after the successful acquisition a state-owned company.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 11 minutes 25 seconds 11 m Jailed Australian businessman claims he is the victim of Chinese judicial corruption ( Kerry Brewster )

During preparation for its listing on the London stock exchange, Ng found himself in a bitter dispute with the state-owned company he had purchased.

Ms Chow said her husband was determined to stay in control.

"If you want to do business in China you have to play by their rules. You can't bring your Western concepts to China. You have to play by their rules," she said.

Ng was arrested outside their home in Guangzhou soon after.

"It was almost dinner time and he was coming back. He called me and said: 'Can you come down to the car park?'" Ms Chow said.

"OK, which I did. I saw eight policemen surrounding him.

"He just passed me his briefcase and asked me to call the consul general. Then off he goes in the van and he never came back."

Ng was tried in a closed court in southern China and sentenced to 11.5 years in prison for fraud and bribery. All his property was expropriated.

His lawyer Tom Lennox said Ng had done nothing wrong in his business dealings.

"It was all perfectly above board, scrutinised by big accounting firms, there were lawyers scrutinising the deals," he said.

"This was no back room deal, this was Matthew building a business, on the cusp of great success and obvious increase in value and it was taken from him.

"The allegations of fraud and bribery, anywhere in the Western world that's not fraudulent, that's growing your business, that's not bribery, and that's what Matthew was found guilty of."

Daughter 'couldn't cope' with father's imprisonment

Matthew Ng says he does not believe there is any reason for him to be kept in jail. ( t.qq.com )

For Ng's 14 year-old daughter from his first marriage, Isabella, the stress of her father's ordeal proved fatal.

"She [couldn't] stop crying, learning that Dad has been taken away to jail. I think that's how the problem starts. She couldn't cope," Nikki said.

Suffering from anorexia, Isabella died in a hospital intensive care unit a year after her father's imprisonment.

Ng's transfer from China to Australia was the first of its kind between the two countries.

Mr Marquard said his friend was grateful to the Gillard-Rudd government and Frances Adamson, the ambassador at the time, for brokering the deal.

But he and Ng's other supporters cannot understand why he is still in jail 18 months later, for a crime he would never have been found guilty of in Australia.

Matthew Ng's daughter Isabella died while he was in prison in China. ( Supplied )

Mr Marquard has written to Attorney-General George Brandis pointing out that under Australia's Prisoner Exchange Act, he has the power to adapt a sentence to Australian law.

"When I write to the Attorney-General's Department and [Justice Minister Michael] Keenan and I get a … letter back saying we're not going to do anything, when you know they have the clear capacity and ability and legal right to fix it — it just doesn't seem right," he said.

With Ng's wife now seriously ill, the stress is becoming too much for him.

"If the Attorney-General had believed he was innocent it's inconceivable to Matthew that they would not release him. He's quite buried by that," Mr Marquard said.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Justice, Michael Keenan, told Lateline the Government was considering the case.

"The Australian Government's policy is to apply the sentence imposed on the prisoner in the sentencing country in order to ensure the transfer scheme remains available for future cases," they said.

"The Government is aware of Mr Ng's personal circumstances. His application for early release on licence due to these personal circumstances is being given careful consideration."

In a message through his friend Mr Marquard, Ng said he did not think there was any reason for him to be kept in jail.

"His message is that any support and any encouragement he can get towards getting early release and getting his life back would be very much appreciated," he said.

Ng is eligible for parole in August.