A University teacher in Harbin of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province was recently sentenced to one year imprisonment with one year probation for taking bribes from some 300 students, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

In 2001, the teacher identified only as Yu, received a total of 15,000 yuan (US$1,800) from 300 students in nine classes of the university.

The students, each of whom paid 50 yuan (US$6), asked him to "take special care" of their marks in the final exam on the dialectics of nature, a course taught by Yu.

Yu then took advantage of his post as the vice-director of the university's Humanities Department, asking the teachers reviewing the papers to help all the corrupt students to pass the exam.

In 2002, Yu used the same means to obtain 5,100 yuan (US$614) from students.

(Shanghai Star November 27, 2003)