CHINA CHEF SENTENCED FOR OPIUM DISH

BEIJING -- A Beijing restaurant-owner was sentenced to 18 months in prison
for sprinkling ground opium poppy over a spicy fish dish in an effort to
ensure that diners returned, a newspaper reported.

Beijing's Haidian District People's Court on April 23 convicted Bi
Jingxiang of "tricking others into using drugs" and also ordered him to pay
a $365 fine, the Workers Daily said in its Saturday edition.

Bi claimed ground opium poppy was frequently used in his hometown of
Chongqing to prevent dysentery among those partaking of the region's spicy
cuisine.

"It's extremely common and has lots of positive effects," the paper quoted
Bi saying. It said he plans to appeal the sentence.

Bi invested $12,000 in the Yuyuan Restaurant a year ago and enjoyed a
roaring trade, the paper said. Police responding to a tip arrested him in
late February and seized one pound of ground opium poppy powder.

Chinese authorities say opium poppies grow naturally or in small cultivated
plots throughout the country and are still used in some remote districts as
a folk cure. Authorities say most of the refined heroin and opium used in
China comes from jungle labs in Myanmar.