Chinese court jails man for life on espionage charge

A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a man to life in prison on charges of espionage.

The Suzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court handed down the life sentence to John Shing-wan Leung, who holds permanent residency in China's Hong Kong and a United States passport.

Leung, born on May 1, 1945, is deprived of his political right for life and will also have 500,000 yuan (about US$71,800) of his personal assets confiscated, according to the court verdict.

State security authorities in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, took compulsory measures against Leung in April 2021 after suspecting him of conducting spying activities, according to the court.