ZHUHAI, Guangdong Province: Two Chinese defendants were sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for organizing a sex orgy involving hundreds of Japanese tourists in a case that sparked public outrage across China.

Zhuhai hotel: Site of scandal

Twelve other defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 15 years.

Police have asked Interpol to help find three Japanese suspected of soliciting prostitutes for the orgy, which coincided with the 72nd anniversary of the start of Japan's occupation of China during World War II.

The Zhuhai Intermediate People's Court sentenced Ye Xiang, assistant to the general manager of Zhuhai International Convention Centre - where the orgy took place - and Ming Zhu to life in prison, Xinhua reported.

It didn't give any other details about Ming.

The hotel's deputy sales manager Liu Xuejing was sentenced to 15 years. Another defendant, Zhang Junying, was sentenced to 12 years.

The 10 others received between two and 10 years in prison. They include hotel staff, night club bosses, pimps, prostitutes and the employees of a local Japanese-funded company.

They were convicted of arranging prostitutes for more than 200 Japanese tourists between September 16 and 18 in the southern Chinese city.

The Zhuhai Intermediate People's Procuratorate also issued warrants for the arrest of three Japanese accused of organizing the sex party, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has asked Japan to help arrest the trio, Xinhua reported.

Chinese police authorities have also asked international police organization Interpol to issue so-called "red notices" on them, the news agency said.

Xinhua identified the three Japanese as Isao Hirobe, Shunji Takahashi and Koji Fukunaga. It didn't give any other details about them.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Tokyo said the government had received a request for "co-operation" from Chinese authorities and conveyed it to the police.

According to earlier media reports, as many as 400 Japanese men and 500 Chinese prostitutes had sex at the Zhuhai hotel over a three-day period that ended on September 18.

The Zhuhai court opened its trial on the case on December 12, but the public and non-essential court employees were barred from the courthouse due to privacy concerns.

The case has raised great concern at home and abroad.

No local government officials and civil servants were found to be involved, but 15 major officials, including bureau directors and their deputies, from Zhuhai municipal offices of public security and tourism, were given Party and executive disciplinary punishments for negligence of duty. The two hotels involved in the case were immediately required to stop doing business when the case was exposed in September.

The prostitutes came from many night clubs in Zhuhai and Shenzhen. They were each paid between 800 yuan (US$96) and 1,800 yuan (US$216) a night.

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