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Student gets off with light rap for airport lapse
Updated: 2010-03-11 13:12
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Chinese student Jiang Haisong, who breached security in January at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, was on Tuesday sentenced to 100 hours of community service and slapped with a $500-fine by the Newark City Court.
According to the judge, Jiang will also pay $158 in court costs. Jiang expressed satisfaction with the sentence and pledged to pay the fine starting Wednesday.
"I want to deeply apologize to those (affected) for my breach," Jiang said outside the court. "I just wanted to spend more time with my girlfriend. I made a big mistake, and I’ve also learnt a big lesson."
Jiang, a 28-year-old doctoral student in a joint molecular biosciences program at Rutgers University, admitted to a judge that he passed under a rope and entered a restricted area at the airport Jan 3 to spend about 20 extra minutes with his girlfriend, who was leaving for California after visiting him in New Jersey.
Eric Bruce, Jiang's lawyer, told the court and the media waiting outside the courthouse that the sentence was "reasonable" as Jiang had not intended to "inconvenience" the travelers.
The misdemeanor charge would not affect Jiang's immigration status, and he would remain at Rutgers on a student visa, said Bruce, adding Jiang was due to graduate in the spring and was part of a research team searching for a cure for glaucoma. Bruce described Jiang as a painfully shy, "lovesick" man who had made a mistake. Jiang and his girlfriend were "still together and still very much in love," his lawyer said.
The security breach was caught on surveillance video, which helped authorities track down the suspect. The video showed a man in a tan jacket waiting at the exit-way where passengers from arriving planes leave the terminal on Jan 3. He was arrested Jan 8.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
