Chinese businesswoman Zhao Yan, mistreated by American policeman Robert Rhodes, will go to the United States and testify in court on August 5.

The pre-court preparation has been completed and police have found a key witness, a Chinese-American woman, who will give testimony in court on the same day, according to Tianjin-based MetroExpress, a newspaper under Tianjin Daily Media Group.

Zhao Yan will demand 10 million US dollars in compensation and the United States will cover the expenses of her trip to the United States.

Zhao Yan, a Chinese businesswoman from Tianjin, was on her first American business trip when she was attacked at Niagara Falls near the US-Canadian border on July 21 last year by US Customs and Borderv Protection police.

Zhao and two women tourists were heading back to hotel when they were attracted by the light from a white house where they found a policeman inside and a black man lying on ground, Zhao said.

"The policeman gestured for us to leave. When we hesitated, several policemen rushed out, sprayed pepper spray at us, pulled my hair and kicked me. I tried to make it clear that I was a tourist and asked for a Chinese interpreter, but they did not pay attention," Zhao said.

The policeman, Robert Rhodes, said in a written report that he found a man carrying marijuana and that detectives told him the three women, including Zhao Yan, were his accomplices.

He said he only shot pepper spray at them when they ran away after he tried to ask them questions.

Source: Xinhua