Jailed for drugging son's tennis foes

A father of two young French tennis players was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday for drugging their opponents and inadvertently causing the death of one of his son's rivals.

Christophe Fauviau, 46, who was found guilty of "premeditated administration of a harmful substance that caused death without intention to do so", had admitted during the trial to putting medicine into players' drinks.

One such player was a 25-year-old man who was killed in a car accident in July 2003 after falling asleep at the wheel. An autopsy found school teacher Alexandre Lagardere had consumed Temesta, an anti-depressant he was not normally known to take.

Fauviau asked his victims for forgiveness during his last testimony in court.

"I would like to say to you that I did not think for a single second of hurting people. I am responsible for Alexandre's accident. I will always carry that with me. I ask for forgiveness," he said. Fauviau had risked up to 20 years imprisonment. The counsel for the prosection had asked for between eight and 10 years on the grounds that a heavier penalty would have been unjust.

During the case, police questioned 27 opponents suspected of having been drugged before Fauviau's arrest in August 2003.

Fauviau was caught off guard when an opponent said he saw him fiddling with his water bottle when he faced his son, Maxime Fauviau, in the semi-final of a tournament in June 2003.

Fauviau's case has raised questions about how far ambitious parents are ready to go to help their children reach the top in a fiercely competitive sport which can have huge financial rewards.

There has been no indication that Maxime Fauviau, then 16, and his sister Valentine, who at the time was 13, were aware of their father's actions.