A man allegedly caught trying to carry a pistol onto a plane in
southwest China had no intention of a hijacking but he'll still
face a jail term if convicted of illegally possessing a firearm,
said police.
The man named Yang, a 40-year-old club manager originally from
Dazhou, was arrested in Sichuan Province.
He stated that he paid 15,000 yuan (US$ 1,923) for the pistol
from an underground arms sales group in August 2006 for his own
protection, said Yang Xinhua, head of the public security
department of Dazhou Airport.
"The suspect said he asked his friends to take the pistol back
to Sichuan to have it repaired in December and he planned to return
with it to Guangzhou, where he works, by plane," said Yang Xinhua.
According to him, the investigation into the case was continuing
and police had informed their counterparts in Guangzhou.
The pistol was found in Yang's hand luggage during a security
check before he boarded an Airbus 319 to Guangzhou, capital of
south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:30 PM and delayed for
about an hour.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)