As Allen Lee Peng-fei made the call at a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong Tuesday night in support of Ching, Ching's employer, The Straits Times, confirmed the trial had ended but a verdict had yet to be handed down.

Ching, 56, was the Hong Kong correspondent for the Singapore newspaper when he was arrested in Guangzhou on April 22 last year, and has been detained since.

He was taken to Beijing's No 2 Intermediate People's Court at 8.45am Tuesday for the hearing.

Local television reports quoted sources as saying Ching and his lawyers had offered their defense in court, while the prosecutor gave evidence to support the charges that Ching had accepted payments in return for helping Taiwan to spy on the mainland.

None of Ching's relatives, including his wife Mary Lau Man-yee, was seen entering the court.

Carole Chow, a spokeswoman for Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes The Straits Times, said the company had been informed by Ching's lawyer that the trial was over, but they were still awaiting the outcome.

"We're glad that the trial for Ching Cheong is finally over after his detention for more than a year," SPH said in a statement.

"We sincerely hope for the best outcome and will continue to assist him and his family in all possible ways," it said.

In Hong Kong, about 100 people attended a candlelight vigil for Ching, organized by the Hong Kong Journalists' Association, at Chater Garden, Central.

Lee told the gathering he hoped Beijing could treat Ching leniently or even acquit him of the charges.

"I've been a friend of Ching for more than 20 years. He was always patriotic and strived for the best interests of our country. Even though he has been under arrest for more than a year, I still do not believe he was a spy," said Lee, who also wrote a letter to NPC chairman Wu Bangguo in December last year asking him to intervene.

"It would be very likely that mainland courts would soon announce he was found guilty, subsequently sentencing him to jail.

"But I still hope the central government will consider the contributions he had made to the country in the past and offer him a lenient sentence, or even rule that he be acquitted of the charges," Lee said.

In a pre-recorded message to the vigil, Lau said she would like to see the incident resolved as soon as possible.

"Ching Cheong has always loved his country ... and I deeply believe he would not do anything to jeopardize national security or the interests of our country," she said.

Szeto Wah, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, said he hoped that, if Ching were jailed, Hong Kong people would maintain their concern over the case as he believed public pressure could help his chances for parole.

However, Tsang Hin-chi, who is also a local deputy to the NPC Standing Committee, urged Ching's family to be patient as they await the verdict because it is the country's policy not to allow any person to attend court hearings in a case involving national security.

"Every country has its own rules. If a case concerns state secrets, no information should be publicized. So let's wait for the result," he said.

Media rights groups such as Reporters Without Borders have said Ching is innocent.

"Ching Cheong was in China to carry out his work as a journalist and for that reason alone," Reporters Without Borders says in its online campaign material seeking his release.

"We reject the accusations of spying brought against him by the Chinese government, which are liable to create confusion and cast suspicion on the entire profession."

Mainland legal expert Ong Yew- kim said Ching, who has been detained for nearly 16 months, could be jailed for between five and eight years if the spying charges are proven.