China SARS hero gets life for accepting bribes

BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) A Chinese health official once hailed as a hero for his work in fighting the spread of SARS has been jailed for life for taking ''huge'' bribes from vaccine distributors, state media said today.

Luo Yaoxing, an official with the Guangdong Provincial Disease Prevention and Control Centre, was convicted and sentenced yesterday, the China Youth Daily reported.

From July 2001 to April 2006, Luo took 11.2 million yuan in bribes from SARS vaccine dealers, the newspaper said.

Originally sentenced to death, he saw his penalty reduced because he had pleaded guilty and returned the money.

SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, emerged in southern China, swept through the province of Guangdong, and spread globally in 2003, infecting 8,000 people and killing 800.

Luo worked on immunisation projects and won a government award for his efforts, the newspaper said.

His case is the first of several involving officials at the Guangdong Provincial Disease Prevention and Control Centre.

''So far 10 cases of embezzlement have been exposed,'' the Yangcheng Evening News said.

REUTERS PDM MIR RN1416