6 jailed up to 13 yrs over deadly nightclub fire

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-14 00:05

SHENZHEN -- Six people, including two officers, received jail terms of up to 13 years on Friday from a local court for their involvement in a fatal nightclub fire that killed 44 in south China's boom city of Shenzhen.

The Longgang District People's Court in Shenzhen convicted Yang Zhouwu, a former chief of Tongle Police Station under the Longgang Public Security Branch, of taking bribes of 300,000 yuan ($43,923) from the "King of the Dancers" nightclub and for dereliction of duty.

Yang was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Chen Feng, a former head of a firefighting squad under the branch and Liu Libiao, a former policeman of the station, were both sentenced to six years in jail for dereliction of duty.

The other four, mainly law enforcement staff, received jail terms of one-to-five years.

A fire broke out at the club on September 20 last year when more than 300 people were watching a performance and fireworks ignited flammable material in the ceiling, killing 44 and injuring 64 others.