China jails reporter for cardboard dumpling hoax

BEIJING, Aug 12 (Reuters) A Chinese court today sentenced a television reporter to one year in jail for fabricating a report that Beijing dumpling makers used cardboard as a filling.

The official Xinhua news agency said the journalist, Zi Beijia, was convicted after an open court hearing of ''infringing the reputation of commodities''. He was also fined 1,000 yuan (132 dollars).

Zi, a temporary reporter for Beijing television, was arrested after it emerged that he had cooked up a report that local makers of steamed dumplings were softening cardboard by soaking it in caustic soda and then flavouring it with pork juice.

The report caused a stir, not least because China is under international scrutiny for exporting food and other products that safety inspectors have found to be tainted or substandard.

REUTERS PD BST2216