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Hijackers to serve time in China
LEGAL ISSUES:
Two hijackers who were handed back to China, having served time in Taiwan, have been re-convicted as China won't recognize Taiwan's jurisdiction
AP, WITH STAFF WRITER
SHANGHAI, CHINA
Thursday, Feb 03, 2000, Page 4
A Chinese couple jailed for six years by Taiwanese authorities for hijacking a jetliner have been sentenced to further prison time by a Chinese court, an official said yesterday.
Luo Changhua (羅昌華) and Wang Yuying (王玉英) were among five hijackers sent home in February 1999 by Taiwan, which has been reluctant to return Chinese ex-convicts to face more punishment and possible death sentences.
China's leaders refuse to recognize Taiwan's court system.
Luo was sentenced in Decem-ber to 15 years in prison and Wang to 10 years by the Intermediate People's Court in Ganzhou, a city in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, said a court official.
However, the court said their Taiwan prison time would count against their sentences, said the official, who would not give his name.
The official did not know the date the sentence was handed down, but said Luo and Wang had not appealed and had been turned over to prison authorities.
Armed with explosives, the couple hijacked a flight from Ganzhou bound for the southeastern city of Xiamen in December 1993.
They were convicted in Taiwan of hijacking and sentenced to nine and seven years in prison, respectively. Despite pleas to stay in Taiwan, they were handed over to Chinese police in Xiamen.
The couple's teenage son, who went with them to Taiwan and was returned to China, is living with relatives in Ganzhou and attending school, the court official said.
Other hijackers returned from Taiwan prisons also have been sentenced to additional time in Chinese prisons or labor camps, despite calls by Taiwan to respect the terms of its courts.
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