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Chinese woman jailed for trespassing at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort

Yujing Zhang was found with two passports, four mobile phones, computer and external hard drive

Vittoria Elliott
New York
Monday 25 November 2019 19:00 EST
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(REUTERS)

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A Chinese woman caught trespassing at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort has been jailed for eight months.

Yujing Zhang, 33, was found guilty of trespassing and lying to federal agents following a trial at which she acted as her own lawyer.

When Zhang was arrested sneaking into the Florida resort, she was carrying two passports and an electronic signal blocking Faraday bag containing four mobile phones, a computer, and an external hard drive.

The financial consultant from Shanghai told the judge she only had $5,000 but police found $8,000 in her hotel room in Palm Beach, Florida, along with nine flash drives, four SIM cards, and other electronics. She had $40,000 in a bank account.

Zhang told the Secret Service she was going to use the pool at Mar-a-Lago.

Later, she changed her story, saying she was at the club to attend an event hosted by the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association. But a later examination of Zhang’s communications revealed that she knew the event was cancelled before embarking for the US.

The event, which was supposed to include a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, was cancelled after the Miami Herald revealed that one of its promoters had run a massage parlour where men paid for sex.

Speaking to the court, Zhang said: “I do think I did nothing wrong.”

Her stay in jail since her arrest on 30 March will count towards her prison time. She will be deported when the sentence is up.

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