A man allegedly caught trying to carry a pistol onto a plane in southwest China had no intention of a hijacking but he'll still face a jail term if convicted of illegally possessing a firearm, said police.

The man named Yang, a 40-year-old club manager originally from Dazhou, was arrested in Sichuan Province.

He stated that he paid 15,000 yuan (US$ 1,923) for the pistol from an underground arms sales group in August 2006 for his own protection, said Yang Xinhua, head of the public security department of Dazhou Airport.

"The suspect said he asked his friends to take the pistol back to Sichuan to have it repaired in December and he planned to return with it to Guangzhou, where he works, by plane," said Yang Xinhua. According to him, the investigation into the case was continuing and police had informed their counterparts in Guangzhou.

The pistol was found in Yang's hand luggage during a security check before he boarded an Airbus 319 to Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:30 PM and delayed for about an hour.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)