Two Chinese hotel workers were sentenced to life in prison today for organising a sex orgy involving hundreds of Japanese tourists.
Twelve other Chinese people were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years and police asked Interpol to help find three Japanese suspected of soliciting prostitutes for the orgy.
State media have said the orgy in mid-September, at a five-star hotel in Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong, involved hundreds of Japanese tourists and Chinese prostitutes.
The scandal triggered outrage in China, where antagonism towards Japan has never been far below the surface since millions were killed or wounded during about 14 years of Japanese occupation before and during World War Two.
A Zhuhai court sentenced two employees at the hotel where the orgy took place - Ye Xiang and Ming Zhu - to life in prison for organising the mass prostitution, Xinhua said.
Twelve defendants received jail sentences of from two to 15 years for "organising prostitution and or assisting the organisation of prostitution", Xinhua said.
The case also led to the disciplining of 15 officials with Zhuhai's police and the tourism bureau for negligence.