STRAITS Times journalist Ching Cheong lost his appeal yesterday after a Beijing court upheld his five-year jail term for spying.
Both his family and employer expressed their disappointment over the outcome.
Ching, who will be 57 next month, and his lawyers were in court to hear the outcome of his appeal.
His brother Ching Hai, 60, who had travelled to Beijing from Hong Kong with two siblings, told reporters: 'He looked a lot older. He looked very down.'
The journalist's wife Mary Lau, who remained in Hong Kong, reacted with disappointment and anger.
'After having put in so much effort, we thought there was some hope... Ultimately, there was none,' she said yesterday afternoon.
Straits Times editor Han Fook Kwang said: 'We are naturally disappointed, but we have to respect the decision of the court there.
'We appealed to Premier Wen Jiabao in September for a reduction in the sentence on compassionate and health grounds, and I hope that he will consider our appeal favourably.'
A Singapore Press Holdings statement appealed to the Chinese authorities to show Ching leniency and compassion while he is serving his sentence.
'We will continue to provide all necessary support and assistance to him and his family,' it added.
Ching, who has maintained his innocence, yesterday asked his lawyers to pass messages to his family, The Straits Times and his friends.
To his family, he said: 'Take care of your health. Even though I'm in jail, I'll stay strong.'
Earlier in court, one of the three judges read the thrust of an eight-page written judgment, based on a closed-door review of written defences submitted by Ching and his lawyers, as well as documents from prosecutors.
It found that Beijing's Second People's Intermediate Court, which found Mr Ching guilty of spying for Taiwan in August, had verified the evidence produced for the case.
The court added that Ching had not submitted new evidence in his appeal.
It ruled that media reports submitted by the defence to prove that the Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies (FICS) was not a spy outfit lacked objectivity, and therefore had no effect on the case. The journalist has been accused of spying for FICS.
The court upheld the evidence presented in the first verdict as 'clear and sufficient'. It rejected the defence's appeal to overturn the original conviction and change it to one of negligent leaking of state secrets.
The family will now try to obtain medical parole for Ching, who suffers from high blood pressure, insomnia and intestinal pains.
The head of Singapore Press Holdings' marketing division, Mr Leslie Fong, who hired Ching in 1996 when he was The Straits Times' editor, said he was 'deeply, deeply pained by the thought of Ching Cheong having to spend the next few years in a prison'.
Speaking in his personal capacity, he said he was thoroughly convinced that Ching was a patriot dedicated to working for his country's betterment.