Zhang Huanrui, vice president of Modern Consumer News, and four of his subordinates were found guilty of blackmailing half a dozen government departments and officials for 815,000 yuan (USD 125,000) by threatening them with negative news reports, said the Yanfeng District People's Court in Hengyang city.
The defendants used the potential consequences of the negative reports to coerce the agencies and officials to pay money, promising in return to delete negative reports or not to conduct follow-up reporting, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the court.
The other was given a three-year suspended sentence.
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