A man who was allegedly caught trying to carry a pistol on to a plane in southwest China had no intention of hijacking, but he still faces a jail term if convicted of illegally possessing a firearm, say police.

The man named Yang, a 40-year-old club manager who was born in Dazhou, was arrested in Sichuan province.

He had stated that he paid 15,000 yuan (1,923 U.S. dollars) 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 return with it to Guangzhou, where he works, by plane," said Yang Xinhua.

The investigation into the case was continuing and police had informed their counterparts in Guangzhou, said Yang Xinhua.

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

The airplane was scheduled to take off at 4:30 p.m. and delayed about an hour due to the incident.

Source: Xinhua