IT was always the worst part of Neil Mason’s job in China, the only foreigner among a group of hard-drinking, chinese-speaking colleagues on another dreaded “team-bonding” weekend away from his wife.

But when Natasha Phillips-Mason reluctantlly kissed him farewell a year ago today as he left their home in the popular Chinese expat city of Suzhou she never dreamed it was the last time she would see him alive.

A day later she was summoned to identify her husband’s body, wrapped in clear plastic and tied in ropes, at a tiny countryside morgue.

The Manly businesswoman believes her British-born husband died after drinking a brutally potent homemade Chinese brew called “Baijiu” served at the leadership conference. But no-one is talking.

media_camera Neil Mason’s death in China remains a mystery one year on.

media_camera Natasha Phillips-Mason with her husband Neil before his tragic death.

In desperation, Mrs Phillips-Mason this week made the difficult decision to speak out about her “year from hell” as she fights for answers amid claims of a cover-up.

Mrs Phillips-Mason, a 38-year-old beverage consultant from Manly who moved to China in 2006, met her 51-year-old husband while he was working as a mechanical engineer for Apex Tool Group, the Chinese arm of a US power tool giant currently owned by a company co-founded by former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The couple wed at Shelly Beach in 2012 before returning to China, planning to live in Australia once their contracts had expired.

As the sole foreigner in a company of around 500 Chinese workers, Neil “hated” the annual overnight management trips.

“He was the only foreigner in the Suzhou plant. He was really annoyed at having to go,” she said.

Things had got so bad that Mr Mason sent his wife an email while he was away raising the subject of breaking their contracts and returning to Australia. It was the last time she would ever hear from him.

The following day “an old Chinese man” came to the house “frantically ringing” the doorbell.

Mrs Phillips-Mason was driven to a police station in the town where the conference had been held.

“I thought, whatever is going on, this is going to be one hell of a good story to tell our mates back home,” she said.

But then police told her to get into a military van, which they drove to an outdoor morgue in a remote village.

With curious villagers looking on, her husband’s body was removed from one of the fridges.

“I screamed. I could barely stand,” she said. “He was wrapped in clear plastic and tied with ropes.”

media_camera Natasha Phillips-Mason is fighting for answers about her husband Neil’s suspicious death in China. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Police said the company had admitted Baijiu — a potent white spirit enjoyed by locals — had been served at the dinner. However, all the bottles had disappeared by the time police arrived at the restaurant as part of the investigation.

“At that moment, I thought he had died in his sleep,” she said. “I thought, he’s had an allergic or toxic reaction and died overnight.”

However, CCTV footage obtained by police and viewed by both embassy officials and Mrs Phillips-Mason taken from the hotel where the group had been staying showed workers dragging her husband’s unresponsive body through the lobby and into his room.

The ambulance was called at around 7am the next day, 10 hours after the CCTV footage was taken.

Only a partial autopsy could be performed, with Mrs Phillips-Mason fighting for almost three weeks to have her husband’s body returned to the UK. An open verdict was delivered.

Mrs Phillips-Mason does not believe her husband was murdered, but that his death was the result of workers “panicking” and denying him treatment for fear of repercussions

What upsets her most is the treatment by his employers.

media_camera Neil Mason died mysteriously in China in December last year.

Despite being employed by a multi-billion dollar US company owned by Bain Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Mr Romney, Neil Mason’s insurance claim is being dealt with by the company’s Chinese counterparts.

“It has been the worst year of my life,” she said. “It is a nightmare, but it is real.”

Mrs Phillips-Mason has launched legal action in China to force the company to be accountable for her husband’s death, but is running out of money.

“The only way I can get closure from this nightmare is to fight for this,” she said.

A spokeswoman for ATG said there was no evidence the company was responsible for Mr Mason’s death.

The company had also paid Mrs Phillips-Mason what was owed, she said.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague Neil Mason in 2013,” she said.

“After a thorough examination by the Chinese medical authorities, there is no evidence that [subsidiary company] Jacobs Chuck was in any way responsible for Mr Mason’s death.”

She said the company had been in contact with Mrs Phillips-Mason “on several occasions”, while also communicating with her UK legal representative.

WHAT IS baijiu

BAIJIU, also known as “shaojiu”, is one of the most potent alcoholic drinks in the world.

Made from sorghum — much of it coming from Australia — the traditional Chinese white spirit has been likened by foreigners who have sampled it as not unlike drinking “paint-thinner”.

While legal in China, the alcohol content can vary from 40-60 per cent with varieties of the locally-made white spirit varying from town to town.

A surge in demand for Australian sorghum last year was linked to Chinese buyers seeking supplies to meet the rising demand for the spirit.

However, experts have warned foreigners not used to the sprit to take care.

Sydney University Confucious Institute general manager Xing Jin said it was sometimes better to politely decline than try keep up with the locals.

“It is a very common drink in China and has been around for 5,000 years, “ she said.

“But it should only be consumed at room temperature, in a very small cup and always with food — never on an empty stomach.

“It tastes like vodka, with a burning sensation when you drink it. If you are not experienced, you could easily get drunk after two small cups.”

After being served a variety of baijiu at a State dinner during a visit to China — former US secretary of State Henry Kissinger famously remarked: “if we drink enough Maotai, we can solve anything”.