The Intermediate People's Court of Nanping, in Fujian province, convicted Liu Quanshun, 46, of arson and ordered him to pay four million yuan (USD 629,921) in compensation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
According to court findings, Liu met his girlfriend surnamed Li, who was already married to another man.
After their meeting at a casino in Nanping in 2009, Li left her family and eloped with Liu.
However, she slapped a rape case against Liu when her father and husband traced her whereabouts and confronted the couple.
Subsequently Liu tried to blackmail Li