11 people jailed for Xi'an lottery fraud
(Newsphoto/Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-03 15:36

Eleven people who tried to defraud Chinese lottery winners by having their tickets declared forgeries were sentenced Friday to prison terms of up to 19 years, news reports said, following a scandal in which one disappointed winner threatened suicide.

Jia Anqing (right), former director of the Xi'an sports bureau, and five others wait for their verdicts in a court in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province for the shocking lottery fraud December 3, 2004. Jia was sentenced to 13 years. [newsphoto]

The scheme in the western city of Xi'an received nationwide news coverage when it was uncovered earlier this year. Lotteries to raise money for charities, sports facilities and other causes attract tens of millions of players in China.

Yang Yongming, a contractor who sold lottery tickets for the Xi'an city sports bureau, was convicted of leading the scheme to steer prizes to accomplices instead of the real winners, the Xinhua News Agency said. It said he was sentenced to 19 years by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court.

Jia Anqing, former director of the sports bureau, was sentenced to 13 years for helping Yang in exchange for bribes, according to Xinhua.

The scheme involved having winning lottery tickets falsely declared forgeries, clearing the way for prizes to be awarded to Yang's accomplices, according to earlier reports.

Jia Anqing, former director of the Xi'an sports bureau, is sentenced to 13 years for involvement in the shocking lottery scandal by a court in Shaanxi December 3, 2004. [newsphoto]

That prompted one disappointed winner in June to climb a billboard in Xi'an and threaten to throw himself off after he was denied a BMW sedan and cash, according to earlier news reports.

Lottery officials later apologized to the man and presented him with the car and 120,000 yuan (US$15,000) in cash.

Four other government employees and five outsiders also were convicted, including the deputy director of sports lotteries for Shaanxi province, where Xi'an is located.
The provincial official, Zhang Yongmin, was sentenced to seven years and others received terms ranging from six months to 17 years.

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