Cai Haowen, a former government official in northeast China's Jilin Province, was sentenced to 17 years in jail by a local court Sunday morning on charges of embezzling public money to gamble abroad and taking bribery.
  
Investigation showed that Cai, a transportation management official of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, embezzled more than 3.18 million yuan (US$385,000) and used the money for gambling during his visits to a casino abroad, the court said.
  
His personal property was also confiscated.
  
Cai fled after his scandal was exposed last November, and was captured on Feb. 6 this year.
  
He was put onto the most wanted list by the Ministry of Public Security on Feb. 3 after China launched a nationwide hard strike on gambling, with officials engaged in the games as major target, earlier this year.
  
The court also ruled that Cai took bribery while in office. The imprisonment term was a combination of the two crimes of embezzlement and bribery taking. 

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)