While the former was sentenced to life imprisonment, the latter was sentenced to a 13 year imprisonment with a fine of 200,000 yuan (US$24,155), Xinhua reported yesterday.

The trial marks the start of the city's efforts to clear up its 15 finance swindle cases, in which innocent people were cheated by illegal providers of stock exchange services, who have no registration with related authorities.

For example, as in the case of the two Xus, the criminals were said to have attracted people to trade stocks through their computer terminals with illegal financing preferential policies and were earning undue service fees.

"All such stock exchange computer platforms should be approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission," said a source with the court.

"Such illegal financing as in Xus' case has seriously disturbed the country's financing order and harmed people's interests."

Another nine defendants were also found guilty of the same offence yesterday, and were sentenced to 4 to 15 years' imprisonment along with a fine ranging from 50,000 yuan (US$6,038) to half a million yuan (US$60,386).

(China Daily April 21, 2003)