Robert Rhodes, 43, has been indicted for criminally violating the civil rights of 37-year-old Zhao Yan by causing her bodily injury in the July 21 altercation in Niagara Falls. According to the indictment, Rhodes struck and hit Zhao with his knee and then drove her head into the pavement.

Zhao is suing the United States for US$5 million, claiming she was thrown against a wall and kneed in the head by Rhodes, leaving her cut and bruised.

Zhao's face was bruised, swollen and lacerated in the incident. The businesswoman was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as calling the United States "the most barbarous" country she had ever visited.

Rhodes, of Niagara Falls, faces up to 10 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, said US Attorney Michael Battle.

Authorities said Zhao was standing nearby when customs officers confiscated marijuana from a male pedestrian at the Rainbow Bridge linking the US and Canada.

Rhodes said that Zhao and two other women ran when he asked them to come into the inspection station. His lawyer, Steven Cohen, said Rhodes was following Customs and Border Protection procedure when he used pepper spray and physical force to subdue Zhao.

The incident went to the top of diplomatic channels, with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing discussing it during a telephone call with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

(China Daily, China.org.cn August 12, 2004)