Louise Bai, 57, told family and friends to ''pray for me'' as she was taken from the court, after being convicted of two firearms offences stemming from the shooting in February.

She said the sentence would make it difficult for her to return to the US, where her family lived. Bai told magistrate Robert Cook it had been an accident, saying even the victim had said so.

As Mr Cook left the bench, she called out ''I still think that was not fair''. She then told her family to pray for her, before guards took her away.

The shooting took place after Bai had gone for an excursion to Lake George with a friend who owned a rifle.

She kept five live rounds after the trip - which she told the court were ''souvenirs'' - and later went to the friend's house and stole his bolt action .22 rifle. A Chinese friend was staying with Bai at her McKellar home on February 20, and had only been in the country for a few days.

The man was using the bathroom, when Bai took the gun and stood in the doorway. For reasons still unclear to the court, she shot him in the right shoulder. A scuffle ensued, and the man eventually left the house and went outside.

Bai called her sister, who lived in Hobart, and asked for help, before calling the friend who owned the gun to tell him ''I stole your gun''. Police later found the wounded man sitting outside with the rifle, which had been broken.

The Chinese woman, who is also a published author, was arrested and initially charged with attempted murder. But that charge was later dropped after the alleged victim returned to China without co-operating with authorities.

Bai still faced less serious firearms charges - relating to unauthorised use and possession of the weapon - and appeared for sentencing before the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday. Bai was found guilty of the unauthorised use of the rifle, and had already pleaded guilty to possessing the weapon.

Mr Cook sentenced her to nine months in prison, which would be suspended after two months on the condition that she enter a 12-month good-behaviour order.

He said it was lucky no one had been killed in the shooting, and labelled some of Bai's explanations for her actions as ''not plausible''.

But Bai, who had earlier been described in court as having an ''unusual'' and ''difficult'' character, began to argue with Mr Cook over the sentence. The court earlier heard that Bai had tried to pressure the author of a pre-sentence report to obtain a favourable outcome.

The court heard that Bai had no criminal record, was usually of good character, and had shown remorse and contrition. Bai will be released in January, and will be given back her passport. She holds a green card for residency in the US but may face difficulties returning to the country.