A Chinese "snakehead", or people trafficker, has been jailed for six years after being convicted of smuggling more than 40 people into South Korea three years ago.

Wang Zijia, 48, was also fined 60,000 yuan (US$7,500) in the sentence handed down at the Huancui District People's Court in Weihai city, east China's Shandong Province.

The court heard that on April 24, 2003, Wang and a native of Changhai county, Dalian City of Liaoning Province, collaborated with others in hiding the illegal migrants on a fishing boat to be ferried to an South Korea-registered cargo vessel ship moored at sea.

All the illegal migrants were successfully smuggled into South Korea, but only 13 have since been located by South Korean police.

Wang Tanlong, the fishing boat skipper, and seaman Wei Chuansheng, were arrested shortly after the event and charged with assisting Wang Zijia.

Wang Zijia, who is unemployed, went into hiding shortly after the event and was arrested on May 31 this year.

(China Daily November 2, 2006)