Six sentenced to jail for fatal fire in central China province

Six men responsible for a fire case killing 20 firefighters were sentenced to jail on Friday for their involvement in the illegal construction of a building.

Li Wenge, the developer of the building and president of the Yongxing Group, was sentenced to one and half years in prison. Other defendants Li Yongkai, Wei Dongheng, Zhu Feng, Xiao Wei and Shen Liming were sentenced to jail for one, two or three years.

The court ruled that Li presented one set of blueprints to construction officials but used another set in construction and that he used shoddy cement, which accelerated the collapse of the building.

The fire broke out in an eight-story building in Hengyang, Hunan Province on Nov. 3 2003, claiming the lives of 20 firemen and wounding 18 others.

The Ministry of Public Security called the tragedy the worst accident involving firefighters since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The six defendants objected to the conviction and one said in court that he would appeal.