Chinese court hands 78-year-old U.S. citizen life in prison for spying

A court in China has sentenced a 78-year-old U.S. citizen to life in prison on espionage charges.

John Shing-Wan Leung, who has a U.S. passport and permanent residence in Hong Kong, was convicted by the court in the eastern city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, on Monday.

Leung’s assets worth about 500,000 Yuan (72,000 dollars) were also confiscated.

Few details are known about the allegations against Leung beyond that he was arrested in April 2021.

U.S. officials are yet to comment.

As the relationship between the two countries deteriorated in recent years, the United States has also increasingly taken action against Chinese nationals accused of spying.