Chen Jicheng, former chairman of the board of directors of a fireworks factory, was sentenced to death for producing explosives illegally and held accountable for an explosion that killed 36 last December in Tieling, a city in northeastern China's Liaoning Province.

The verdict was issued by Tieling Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday.

The explosion hit Changtu Safe Environment Friendly Fireworks on December 30 last year, killing 36 workers and injuring 32.

Chen was also convicted of loan fraud, according to the court. Using both genuine and fake identities, he obtained loans worth 2.59 million yuan (US$312,048) between March 1996 and December 1999.

To avoid repayment, he fled to Liaoning with a fake identity card in 2001.

He then set up a fireworks plant in Fushun in May 2002, but local police soon closed it. Chen ran another fireworks plant in Siping, but it was also forced to close in December the same year, according to the court.

But Chen persisted and opened a third in Changtu County. He started fireworks production before obtaining legal permits or giving workers sufficient training, which was identified as the cause of the tragedy.

Another defendant, You Tao, the general manager of the company, was sentenced to seven years in prison for producing explosives illegally.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2004)