French Polynesia's court of appeal has given a suspended 18-month jail term to a former president Gaston Flosse for misuse of public funds over his invasion of privacy.
Flosse ran an intelligence service between 1997 and 2004 to keep a tab on rival politicians, journalists and others.
Flosse had earlier been convicted in the criminal court for abusing 10 million US dollars in public funds by running the spy agency with its staff of 19 out of the presidency office.
Gaston Flosse Photo: RNZ
His lawyer is yet to say whether the appeal court decision will be challenged in France's highest court.
Four years ago, Flosse was convicted for obstructing the examination of the case and he was fined 16,000 US dollars for destroying all the agency's documents.
In 2014, Flosse was given a four-year suspended jail term, a 170,000 US dollar fine and banned from public office for three years for corruption.
