Six people accused of involvement in a fatal fire that killed 54 people in February this year in northeast China’s Jilin City were sentenced to three to seven years in prison at a court hearing held in Changchun on Saturday.

Yu Hongxin, an employee of the Zhongbai department store in the capital city of Jilin Province who was convicted of causing the fire, was sentenced to seven years.

According to the court ruling, Yu was found to cause the fire by dropping a cigarette end on the floor when carrying paper boards to the storehouse on Feb. 15 and leaving without stamping it out.

General Manager Liu Wenjian, Deputy General Manager Zhao Ping and security chief Ma Chunping of the department store were sentenced to a jail term of six, five and four years, respectively, for committing the crime of being responsible for failure to observe fire-fighting regulations.

Chen Zhong and Cao Mingjun, both from the security section, were sentenced three years and a half and three years in prison, respectively, for violation of regulations and failure to organize evacuation of staff members and customers timely, according to the Chuanying District People's Court.

The deadly blaze, which started at 11 a.m. Feb. 15 on the second floor of the store where many people were doing weekend shopping, resulted in 54 deaths, more than 70 injuries and direct economic losses totaling 4 million yuan (US$482,000).

Jilin Provincial Governor Hong Hu made an apology to the general public in the province three days after the fatal fire.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2004)