HONG KONG: Singapore journalist Ching Cheong has been jailed for five years by a Chinese court for spying, Hong Kong television said on Thursday.
Ching was put on trial behind closed doors two weeks ago after being detained for more than a year on charges of spying for Taiwan.
"He has been given five years. I'm sorry, but I cannot give any further details," lawyer He Peihua said in an interview seen on Cable TV News in Hong Kong.
James Lung, coordinator of the Hong Kong-based Rescue Ching Cheong Alliance, told AFP the court also ordered the confiscation of 300,000 yuan (37,500 dollars) of property.
"We think it's very unfair, because from the beginning to the end nobody knew what happened," Lung said. He added the family would consider appealing the verdict.
In response to the media queries on the case of Mr Ching Cheong, the publisher of The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings has issued a press statement noting with concern the sentence meted out.
The company has appealed to the Chinese authorities to show Mr Ching Cheong leniency and compassion on account of his poor health.
His wife Lau has always maintained his innocence, saying Ching apparently fell into a trap set over sensitive materials on late Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, who was sacked for opposing the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
She also said Ching had helped an academic at a Chinese government think-tank compile reports on Hong Kong and Taiwan commissioned by the central authorities, and gave advice on cross-strait relations.
The problem was he may have given too much information on mainland China to Taiwan authorities, according to Hong Kong media. The charges also seem to suggest this.
The verdict also deprived Ching of his political rights for one year, Xinhua said.
This is a routine addition to jail sentences in China, with little practical significance, as it means he cannot vote or run in elections in lawmaking assemblies.- AFP
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