The managers of a Chinese poultry farm were sentenced last week for negligence that resulted in a fire and the death of 121 employees in Jilin Province in 2013, according to a local court.

Official sources say that the Chairman of Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co., Jia Yushan, was sentenced to nine years in prison for not ensuring the working environment was safe, the Chaoyang district court in Changchun City ruled. Mr Jia was also ordered to pay a fine of one million yuan (US$161,300).

The company's former general manager, Zhang Yushen, was sentenced to four years in prison for installing sub-standard equipment, which was directly responsible for casualties.

Lyu Yandong, former chief of the fire department in Dehui City, where the poultry farm was located, received five and half years in prison for abuse of power. His deputy, Liu Guicai, was given a five-year prison term.

On 3 June 2013, a fire and its subsequent explosions killed 121 people and injured 76 others.