Two human organ traders were sentenced yesterday by a Beijing court for their roles in deals worth 470,000 yuan (US$ 71,407).

Liu Yunlu, 31, a jobless man from north China's Hebei Province, received a seven-year sentence. Dong Binggang, 25, a farmer from northwest China's Shaanxi Province, who was judged to have played a minor role in the business, was given a two-year suspended sentence.

Liu was ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 yuan and Dong 30,000 yuan, reported Legal Evening News yesterday.

Liu traveled to Beijing in 2008, after seeing online posts about the illegal human organ trade and deciding to become a donor. Unable to find a match, he became a middleman, officials said.

He got to know Dong, who was desperate for money to help his ailing mother, through online chat services.

Liu arranged for Dong to donate a kidney for 30,000 yuan in January 2009. The recipient told the court that she paid the pair 150,000 yuan, including 40,000 yuan for the operation fee.

Later, Li persuaded Dong to become a broker, promising him 5,000 yuan for each donor he found, plus a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan.