From L to R: Qiu Qiming, Gao Feng, Nie Yuan.

A former player on China's men's soccer team was sentenced to seven months in jail for assaulting a taxi driver in a hotel lobby with three others, Huangpu District People's Court said today.

His accomplices, a television show host, an actor and a scriptwriter, were sentenced to prison between seven and eight months. All four were given a one-year reprieve, the court said. This means they don't go to prison immediately and ff they behave well during the reprieve period their jail terms could be reduced, the court said.

On March 9, prosecutors said former soccer player Gao Feng, TV host Qiu Qiming, actor Nie Yuan and scriptwriter He Mu, who just had a dinner party for the television show "Dancing with the Stars", returned to Jin Jiang Tower hotel where they were staying for a party. At about 5:23am, Qiu tried to hire two cabs waiting in front of the hotel. The cabbies refused, which triggered a dispute.

Eventually the dispute became violent. The four men attacked cabbie Zhao Gun with Gao even using a chair in the assault. Zhao sustained a fractured left-eye socket.

Police soon received a report of this incident and captured Gao and Nie. After being called by police, Qiu and He surrendered.

The four paid combined compensation of 500,000 yuan (US$77,988) to Zhao, according to the court.

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