The family of alleged drug kingpin Liu Zhaohua yesterday insisted he was innocent.

Speaking after Liu's trial, which ended yesterday without a verdict, they claimed he had been manufacturing medicines, not the deadly drug methamphetamine, known as 'ice.'

The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court is expected to reach a final verdict within three months.

"We knew from the very start that he was making medicine not this so-called 'ice'," said Liu Yuechun, his elder sister. Liu Yuechun was not allowed to hear the two-day trial because she served as a witness.

"I have not seen him for almost 10 years, and I was so depressed that I did not have a chance to hear the trial," she said.

She went to see Liu, 41, in jail yesterday morning and gave him two sets of clothes. "He kept telling me that he was making and selling medicines to treat cancer and stomach bugs," she told China Daily. "We are asking for further tests on the so-called 'ice,' from some international body or quarantine organization, to prove what he made was not a drug."

Liu, accused of making more than 18 tons of methamphetamine hydrochloride, along with his wife and four others, denied all charges against him, insisting that he had been producing medicines, according to Li Xiaomei, his sister-in-law.

According to Li, Liu had explained in court how he made his "products," arguing that they were different from 'ice.'

Liu's lawyer, Chen Dailong, refused to say anything about the trial, but insisted that "Liu is not guilty until the final ruling comes out."

However, judicial officials yesterday said Liu may face serious punishment if all the charges are proved.

Moreover, the local procuratorial organization said products made by Liu were found to be 'ice' after testing.

Editor: Yan