BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A number of pirated and pornographic products venders were recently sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to six years in several Chinese cities, according to court sources.

    A man, surnamed Ma, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for selling pirated books on Jan. 25, 2007 by a court in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province. Ma's personal property of 100,000 yuan (12,919 U.S. dollars) were confiscated.

    A person, surnamed Li, was sentenced to five and a half year's imprisonment for selling pirated textbooks for kindergarten teachers on Jan. 17 by a court in Fuqing, a city of Fujian Province. Li was also fined 4,000 for his crimes by the court.

    In south China's Hainan Province, sentences were passed on three criminals who sold pornographic products on Dec. 29, 2006. The court sentenced Chen Chuanwu to two years' imprisonment, Long Huanqiu to one and a half year's imprisonment and Li Caili eight months' imprisonment. The three were fined 5,000 yuan altogether.

    In Shanghai, a gang of five were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from six months to two years on Jan. 9 and 11, 2007 for selling pirated products.

    Chinese police seized about 150 million illegal, pirated or pornographic publications in 2006, including movies, books, software, audio-video products and electronic publications, according to the leading office of anti-pornography and anti-piracy campaign. (100 U.S. dollars = 774.08 RMB)