Seven jailed over telecom fraud in China

Seven people were on Thursday sentenced to prison for involvement in a telecom fraud linked to the death of a high school student in 2016.

Chen Minghui, the prime suspect in the case, was handed a life sentence for fraud by the Intermediate People’s Court of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province.

The court also ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets, and stripped him of his political rights for life.

The sentences for his accomplices range from 1 year and 4 months to 15 years, according to the court.

Cai Shuyan, a high school graduate from Jieyang, committed suicide by jumping into the sea after being defrauded of 9,800 yuan (nearly 1,500 dollars).

According to the court, Shuyan had intended using the money to pay for her university tuition fees.

“The suspects were also found to have made over 1.04 million yuan from victims from June to August 2016,’’ the court said.