Chinese court found guilty on Monday US Citizen John Shing-Wan Leung 78 years of age on charges of committing espionage crimefor which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Intermediate People’s Court of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, in the east of the country, determined that the defendant, a resident of Hong Kong, guilty of espionage for which he was deprived of his freedom and political rights for life.

Details of the charges against John Shing-Wang Leung, who has a permanent residence in Hong Kong, they were not made public.

Similarly, the Chinese justice system has determined that 500,000 yuan (64 billion Mexican pesos) worth of personal property will be confiscated, according to the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

The American was detained as China closed its borders and imposed strict domestic travel restrictions and social controls to combat the spread of COVID-19.

According to international media reports, the US embassy in Beijing said it was aware of the case. but couldn’t comment further due to privacy reasons. “The State Department has no higher priority than the safety of American citizens abroad.”

Relations between the US and China have deteriorated in recent months, especially after the visit US policies in Taiwan military maneuvers in the region and the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over US soil.