A Japanese tourist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing a Chinese hotel employee in August by knocking him off the hotel's roof.

Hisato Tashiro, 57, had been drinking before he knocked the employee off the hotel roof in Lijiang, a popular tourist destination in China's southwest, the Beijing Times reported. It said the employee fell six meters (20 feet) and suffered fatal head injuries.

A man who answered the phone at the court on Saturday said employees who could confirm the report didn't work during the weekend.

Tashiro was convicted of intentionally injuring the hotel employee, identified only by the surname Sha, the newspaper said. It said Tashiro planned to appeal.

Tashiro also was ordered to pay 150,000 yuan (US$18,000, €15,000) in compensation, the report said.