Chen Manxiong  and his wife Chen Qiuyuan received lengthy prison terms for embezzling 400 million yuan (US$49 million).

Husband and wife embezzlers in Guangdong Province have been handed lengthy prison sentences for stealing public funds.

Chen Manxiong received life while his wife, Chen Qiuyuan, was given a 14-year sentence by Guangdong Higher People's Court on Tuesday.

The Chens were found guilty of corruption valued at more than 400 million yuan (US$49 million).

Appearing in court on Tuesday, both denied the charges against them.

Chen Manxiong, 45, was a manager at Zhongshan Industrial Development Co Ltd. His wife, 43, was the company's lawyer.

The sentence came after an appeal to a higher court against an initial judgment given by Zhongshan Intermediate People's Court at the end of last year.

While appearing to be a successful couple, the Chens were fanatical gamblers and lost large amounts of public funds at casinos in the Macao Special Administrative Region.

To repay gambling debts, the couple conspired with two officials at the Zhongshan Branch of Bank of China to secure fraudulent loans worth over 400 million yuan (US$49 million) between 1993 and 1995.

The case is believed to be one of the biggest corruption cases ever to have struck the Chinese mainland.

The Chens fled to Thailand in June 1995 before the scandal was exposed.

Following the discovery, Guangdong police jailed the two bank officials.

In Thailand, the couple changed their names, bought illegal Thai passports, and settled in Chiang Mai where they purchased several properties.

Chen Manxiong even had plastic surgery to change his appearance.

The couple were detained by Thai police on allegations of illegal immigration and using fake passports in 2000.

Thai authorities sentenced the pair to jail terms of more than 10 years each, before they were extradited to China in December 2002.

According to the extradition agreement between China and Thailand, the Chens will be returned to Thailand next month to continue their original sentences for illegal immigration and using fake passports.

(China Daily November 17, 2005)