The cases involved more than 330 million yuan (US$39.8 million) and have resulted in eight arrests.

On June 23, the Maoming Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province sentenced Wu Guoqiang, the legal representative of the Shantou Yida Trading Com, to three years in prison for organizing the smuggling of photosensitive material worth 9.6 million yuan (US$1.2 million) last year.

Two other employees of the company -- Chen Shaoqun and He Meixuan -- were also sentenced to three years in jail. All three had confessed to their crimes.

The photosensitive materials are imported from several foreign countries via Hong Kong and used in medical circles as raw materials for making X-ray film.

The company evaded 2.1 million yuan (US$253,000) in tax through smuggling.

The Maoming court also ordered the company to pay a fine of 2.5 million yuan (US$300,000).

In late November last year, the Maoming court handled another case of smuggled photosensitive material worth 293 million yuan (US$35 million).

The Maoming Liweina Photosensitive Material Co evaded more than 51.7 million yuan (US$6.2 million) in tax by smuggling industrial and medical X-ray film last year, court sources said.

Through fake customs declarations, the company concealed the volume of its business and evaded tax.

Four people were sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison late last November.

The company was fined 60 million yuan (US$7.2 million).

In collaboration with other customs authorities in the province, the Maoming court dealt with another photosensitive material smuggling case at the end of last year. Lian Ke, head of the Dianbai subsidiary of the Guangdong Youhe Import-Export Co, was sentenced to three years in prison.

(China Daily July 8, 2003)