Fake Chinese scribes get seven years in jail

October 15th, 2011 - 6:31 am ICT by IANS  

Beijing, Oct 15 (IANS) A court in north China has sentenced two men to seven years in prison for posing as journalists and blackmailing a coal company, Xinhua reported.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publication disclosed about the sentencing in a release Friday.

Wang Zhihong and Wei Xiangqian were found guilty of extorting 300,000 yuan ($47,000) from the Xinyuan Coalification Co. in Lingshi County of Shanxi province after publishing a false story about the company on several websites in April 2010.

The story was a revision based on a previous report that criticised the company.

Wang and Wei allegedly promised to remove the story from the internet and if the company paid them 530,000 yuan, the office said, citing the police investigation.

The company sought police help after the two men demanded more money after being paid 300,000 yuan. They were arrested after police discovered their press IDs were fake.

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