China deports US businesswoman who was convicted of being a spy
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HOUSTON (AP) - An American woman who was arrested while on a business trip in China and later convicted of spying has been deported to the United States.
Jeff Gillis says his wife, Phan "Sandy" Phan-Gillis, got on a flight to Los Angeles on Friday evening. The couple planned to stay in LA a few days to visit relatives before returning to their Houston home.
It was just Tuesday when Phan-Gillis was sentenced by Chinese authorities to 3 ½ years in prison. But the sentence was seen as an indication that she soon could be allowed to return home.
She had faced an uncertain fate since March 2015, when she disappeared from her group traveling in southern China. She was later accused of espionage.
Phan-Gillis is a U.S. citizen of Chinese descent.