Bloggers sentenced over derogatory posts

Two bloggers were sentenced to jail in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday for posting fictitious stories about the head of a giant Chinese dairy company, Yili Group.

Zou Guangxiang and Liu Chengkun were accused of defaming Pan Gang, chairman of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, in a series of WeChat posts beginning on March 24.

Zou was sentenced by the Huimin District People's Court in Hohhot to one year in prison with a one-and-a-half year reprieve; Liu was sentenced to eight months in prison for defamation and causing a disturbance, according to a statement on the court's website.