23 Sentenced Over Fire at Chinese Disco

Courts have handed 23 people prison terms ranging from three to 13 years for safety lapses at a Chinese disco where a fire killed 309 people Dec. 25, state media said Wednesday.

The longest sentence was given to Wang Chengtai, one of four welders blamed for starting the fire in the central city of Luoyang and fleeing the scene without setting off alarms, the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News reported.

The court also sentenced two managers at a department store below the disco to nine years and two executives of the building housing the disco to seven years, it said.

There were no sprinklers or smoke alarms and only two emergency exits at the dance hall, and most of the victims died of smoke inhalation, state media have reported.

Many angry relatives of the deceased have blamed the tragedy on incompetence and neglect by local officials.

Nine government officials, including a city police chief and a fire inspector, received sentences of seven years each after standing trial last week, the Yangcheng Evening News said.

The nine officials were accused of neglect, power abuse and obstructing justice, it said.

Premier Zhu Rongji had promised that those responsible for the fire would be punished severely.

Relatives of victims stood watch outside court during the trials, sobbing and clutching photos of their loved ones, state media said.