A senior doctor has been sentenced to six years in jail for accepting a bribe of 430,000 yuan (US$57,469).

Zhao Mingzhong, 44, had lodged an appeal against the previous verdict, but it was rejected by the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.

Zhao was a cardiovascular expert and was director of several departments in the hospital, which the court did not name.

He was employed by the hospital in April, 2005, as an expert with pioneering achievements in the field of cardiovascular disease treatment.

The cardiovascular doctor was also in charge of medical researching, training and administrative management with his departments.

The bribe came from one of the hospital's medical appliance suppliers, the prosecutors said.

Dong Disheng, manager with Shanghai Kaichuang Medical Appliances, paid a downpayment of 430,000 yuan for Zhao's apartment at the end of 2005.

Dong claimed to have loaned the money to Zhao but no IOU was tendered to the court.

When the hospital launched a crackdown on illegal deals among staff in March, Zhao asked Dong to provide a fake receipt to indicate he had paid off the debt.

When prosecutors were tipped off they arrested Zhao in May and found the debt was still not paid off.

Zhao's family paid 430,000 yuan to the judicial authority after his arrest.

As part of the verdict, the money would be confiscated as punishment for his crime.

Zhao appealed to the court, claiming the jail term was too long, after a district court imposed the sentence on September 10.

Court officials said mercy was given upon his verdict considering Zhao's family turned in full amount of the bribe to authority, and Zhao had been cooperative in the crime investigation.

(Shanghai Daily October 26, 2007)