A man who passed himself off as an editor and reporter of People's Daily, a newspaper run by the Communist Party of China (CPC), has been convicted of racketeering and sentenced to life in prison.

Liu Yonghong extorted 3.79 million yuan ($490,000) by claiming that as a senior People's Daily reporter, he could use his influence to secure official posts, such as promotions or work transfers, according to the verdict by the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing, released yesterday.

Court documents showed that Liu, with two accomplices, extorted 3.68 million yuan from a victim surnamed Zhu between March 2002 and September 2003. The three had previously extorted 110,000 yuan from two other victims in the late 1990s and in 2002, the court said.

The two alleged accomplices, Liu Haiqian and Zhu Di, were not tried with Liu and no information was available about their cases.

The court heard that Liu had been posing as deputy editor-in-chief of the People's Daily for a long time, claiming he could help grassroots officials deliver bribes to senior leaders in Beijing whom they did not have a chance to meet, the court said.

"Liu has seriously tarnished the image of the organizations concerned," the court said, noting that Liu's punishment took account of the fact that he refused to hand over most of the extorted money as well as the very negative impact of his crime.

It is not known whether Liu will appeal against his conviction.

The People's Daily commented on Wednesday that "criminal Liu got what he deserved".

The paper said that despite rigorous discipline procedures, some people still pose as staff of the Party's mouthpiece.

"The People's Daily has repeatedly asked each and every employee to strictly observe the law and always safeguard the reputation of the Party's key newspaper," the paper said, adding that selling news reports for money "had always been banned".

It hailed the efforts of law enforcement agencies to "protect the image of the Party press and to promote social justice".

In another development, a Beijing journalist and another man have been charged with extortion after allegedly seeking money from a firm in the capital in exchange for withholding publication of unfavorable news.

Prosecutors have lodged charges against Xiong Chuan, 30, a journalist with the Beijing-based China Business Post, and Mao Yining, 34, an unemployed man, at the city's Chaoyang District People's Court.

Xiong and Mao are accused of extorting 150,000 yuan from Beijing Xiangguo Trade Co Ltd on July 7 last year in exchange for not writing negative news about the company.

Xiong and Mao were arrested on July 27 when they tried to collect another 250,000 yuan from the company's planning manager.

No date has been set yet for the court hearing.

Earlier this year, Lan Chengzhang, a reporter with the Beijing-based China Trade News, was beaten to death by a gang of people allegedly organized by the owner of a coal-mine in North China's Shanxi Province.

The case has been complicated by allegations that Lan and his colleague Cheng Hanwen were not officially accredited journalists, and that they were trying to extort money from mine owner Hou Zhenrun in exchange for not writing articles about the mine.

Seven people have gone on trial in connection with Lan's killing at Linfen Intermediate People's Court, but the court was yet to announce a judgement.

Source: China Daily-Xinhua