China refuses open court appeal for S'pore reporter

HONG KONG, Nov 2 (Reuters) China has refused a Singapore newspaper reporter the right to appeal in court against his conviction for spying, a group working for his release and local media said today.

Straits Times journalist Ching Cheong was sentenced to five years in prison in China in August. His family filed an appeal in September.

No reasons were given for why there will not be an open court hearing for the appeal, although the court is expected to deliver a written verdict.

''He is deprived of a chance to defend himself in a court session,'' Ching's wife, Mary Lau, told reporters in remarks recorded on local radio RTHK's Web site.

''So we are still worried and of course we wait anxiously for the outcome and hope the final verdict will do him justice.'' ''We expect the final verdict before the end of November.'' Hong Kong-based Ching, 56, has been detained in China since April 2005. He was charged with spying for Taiwan, the self-ruled island over which Beijing claims sovereignty.

He was detained in the southern province of Guangdong where, his wife has said, he had travelled to collect documents related to disgraced former Chinese Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang.

China is the world's leading jailer of journalists, with at least 32 in custody and another 50 Internet campaigners also in prison, rights group Reporters Without Borders says.

REUTERS SSC KP1722