US engineer who bought nuclear technology for China sentenced to 2 years

Knoxville, Sep 1: A US District Judge on Thursday ordered a two-year prison term for a 67-year-old engineer who worked as an operative for the Chinese government in buying American nuclear information for China.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Chief US District Judge Tom Varlan sentenced 67-year-old Szuhsiung "Allen" Ho yesterday. Varlan said Ho's case wasn't as serious as offenses involving weapons of mass destruction described in the law that he pleaded guilty under.

Varlan also ordered a year of supervised release and a fine of USD 20,000. Ho's lawyers have said he wasn't trying to help China produce nuclear weapons. The information he bought for China related to production of nuclear energy.

Prosecutors contend even if Ho wasn't trying to help China strengthen its military nuclear weapon program, China can't be trusted to act responsibly.

PTI