Macao's Court of First Instance has sentenced three people to four-year prison terms each for election fraud, local media reported Wednesday.

The Macao Post Daily quoted court sources as saying that another defendant in the trial, which was opened on Tuesday, was sentenced to one year and nine months behind bars.

The trial was the fourth 2005 electoral graft case heard by the court so far. In the previous three cases, 10 defendants have been handed jail terms ranging between nine months and 2.5 years.

Three more election graft trials are slated to be launched soon, according to the newspaper.

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2007)