The World : China Sentences American
A U.S. businessman accused of starting a fatal fire in a hotel in the Manchurian city of Harbin was found guilty of criminal negligence by a Chinese court and sentenced to 18 months in prison, a court official said. Richard S. Ondrik, 34, an Indiana native employed by a Hong Kong firm, also was ordered to pay damages of almost $52,000. Ondrik had faced a maximum seven-year sentence on a charge of negligently starting the April 18 blaze in the new, luxury Swan Hotel by smoking in bed. Ten people died in the fire.
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