CHINA-US: CHINESE STUDENT ARRESTED IN KEY WEST, U.S. ON ESPIONAGE CHARGES
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20-year old Zhao Qianli, who says he’s a musicology student from North University of China (Taiyuan, Shaanxi) and was visiting Key West as a tourist after completing a summer exchange program, got caught by Key West police for trespassing onto the high-security Naval Air Station. He later told federal authorities that he lost his way on the tourist trail and did not realise it was a military base. Investigators found photos and videos on Zhao Qianli’s smartphone as well as on his digital camera that he had taken of government buildings and a Defense Department antenna field on the military base. Zhao Qianli who is being held in Monroe County Jail, pleaded guilty on January 29, to one count of photographing defense installations at the Key West military facility and was sentenced to one year in prison by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore. The judge gave him the maximum sentence, which was higher than the sentencing guidelines between zero and six months. The U.S. attorney’s office sought nine months in prison.
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