13 jailed for making fake Moutai liquor in SW China

GUIYANG - A court in southwest China's Guizhou Province has sentenced 13 people to imprisonment for producing fake Moutai, a famous Chinese liquor brand.

The intermediate people's court in Guizhou's Zunyi City on Thursday handed down sentences to the suspects, who were convicted of making a large amount of fake Moutai in neighboring Yunnan Province last year, according to the Guizhou Provincial Higher People's Court that supervises the Zunyi court.

The suspects were arrested by police last August, with more than 27,000 bottles of the counterfeit liquor seized. Police found that the group's illegal revenue crossed 41 million yuan ($6.3 million).

On Thursday, the suspects received jail terms ranging from one and half years to five and half years.

Moutai is a sorghum-based spirit produced by Kweichow Moutai, and is China's top brand of baijiu (white alcohol). The liquor, often served on official occasions and at state banquets, is considered a luxury item and has long been a popular gift.