A higher court in East China's Anhui Province upheld a ruling that six Myanmar nationals convicted of women smuggling should receive jail terms ranging from five years to life.

The leader of the ring, whose Chinese name is "Ma'ailai", was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also deprived of his political rights for life and his personal assets were confiscated, said the Higher People's Court of Anhui Province, in a final court ruling.

The other five criminals in the smuggling clique were given fines of 10,000 yuan (about US$ 1,250) each on top of their jail sentences, according to the final ruling issued on Sunday.

Chinese procurators said the smuggling team last year abducted a number of Myanmar women, smuggled them into China and sold them as wives to single men in Anhui province.

The gang, all farmers in Myanmar, were arrested by local police in Anhui in July 2005. A total of 23 Myanmar women that they had abducted were subsequently set free.

In the first-instance trial held on July 19 this year, the Intermediate People's Court of Bozhou, a city in Anhui, ruled that the gang members were guilty of abducting and selling women for profit and were sentenced to imprisonment of five years to life.

The lower court demanded that the criminals be deported upon completion of their jail terms in China.

The six Myanmar nationals lodged an appeal with the Higher People's Court of Anhui Province.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2006)