A court in this southern Chinese city on Thursday rejected a man's appeal against a five-year prison sentence for windfall withdrawals of 175,000 yuan (24,400 US dollars) from a faulty ATM.

In Thursday's trial, the Guangdong Higher People's Court upheld the jail term and fine of 20,000 yuan for 24-year-old Xu Ting, a native of northern Shanxi Province, who once worked here as a security guard.

The ruling also ordered repayment of Xu's illegal gains of 173,826 yuan. Xu's theft conviction was also upheld.

On March 31, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court handed down the sentence after a rehearing was ordered by the provincial higher court, after Xu appealed against a life term imposed in the first instance on Nov. 29.

Xu had worked as a security guard in April 2006 in Guangzhou. When drawing cash from an ATM, he realized it only deducted 1 yuan from his account for each 1,000 yuan that he had withdrawn. He mentioned this to a friend surnamed Guo.

Xu subsequently withdrew 175,000 yuan over 171 transactions while Guo took 18,000 yuan.

Guo was jailed for a year after turning himself in. Xu eluded capture for a year before being apprehended and sentenced last year.

The verdict in Xu's first trial sparked an outcry among the media and legal experts alike, with many saying that he didn't deserve such severe punishment.

At Thursday's court session, Xu expressed remorse and told the judges he did not want to appeal further. Xu also apologized to the bank.

Thursday's ruling still requires the approval of the Supreme People's Court. Xu said he hoped for early approval so he could serve the sentence as soon as possible and perhaps win an early release.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)