Overseas tour for research: Court

GUANGZHOU: A court in Guangzhou has defended six of its officials accused of misusing public funds to pay for an overseas tour, saying the trip was for "inspection and research".

"The tour was approved by the Guangdong provincial foreign affairs office and the expenditure is within the budget," the Guangzhou Maritime Court said in a statement late Wednesday.

The officials, who included chief justice Luo Guohua, had only "stopped by some places of interest" after finishing their duties, it said.