A Chinese court has sentenced four people held responsible for the sinking of a Chinese ferry that killed 282 people to prison terms of five or six years.
The ferry Dashunsank on November 24th, 1999, in stormy seas off the port of Yantai, in eastern China's Shandong province.
State investigators found the ship was carrying too many vehicles and accused its owner, the Yanda Car Ferry Company, of lax safety.
Three of the four people sentenced by Yantai's Intermediate People's Court worked for the firm. The general manager was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. His deputy was sentenced to five years, as was a company supervisor.
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A maritime officer for the Yantai city government was given a five-year term.
AP