A Chinese court today sentenced a couple who ran a restaurant in east China's Anhui Province for their role in a fatal blast that killed 17 people last year.
Zhang Baoping and Diao Shancui were found guilty of causing an accident with dangerous substances, and sentenced to seven years, and three years, respectively by a local court, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Both lodged an appeal after the verdict.
The explosion occurred in October last year in the restaurant on Yangjia Alley, a popular snack street in Jinghu District of Wuhu City, about 350 kilometres west of Shanghai.
Due to negligence, liquefied gas leaked through a disconnected valve from a cylinder, which came into contact with fire and caused the explosion, the judgement of the court said.
An official investigation report said Zhang was to blame as he used worn-out cylinders and did not properly handle the situation when the leak occurred.
Even though the couple turned themselves in, Zhang was not given a lighter punishment, his wife, however, was given a lesser punishment, the report said.
Thirty-three officials from Jinghu District and related departments in Wuhu City, including the director of the district, were given party or administrative punishments ranging from warnings to removal from posts in April.
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