Beijing: Hong Kong permanent resident Liang Chengyun, who holds a US passport, has been sentenced to life in prison for espionage, an intermediate people's court in China's eastern city of Suzhou said on Monday.

Moreover, 78-year-old Liang Chengyun, also known as John Shing-wan Leung, was deprived of political rights, the court said in a statement, adding that the Chinese authorities had confiscated his property worth 500,000 yuan ($71,800) as part of the first instance trial.

No other details on the case were provided by the court.

(With UNI inputs)