Zhao Qianli, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of photographing defence installations. According to a federal judge, he will have to complete a year of supervised release after his prison sentence, Fox News reported.
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Zhao was arrested on 26 September at the Joint Interagency Task Force South at Naval Air Station Key West. Prosecutors said Zhao was seen taking pictures of sensitive parts of the air station and "associated military hardware."
His attorneys insisted he was merely a tourist who got lost and wandered onto the base, however, prosecutors pointed out that he had only base photos on his cellphone and camera, and none of familiar tourist locations in Key West.
Zhao was studying musicology in the US as part of a summer exchange program from the North University of China. The FBI said he had been in the country legally, but his visa ran out one week before his arrest.
