A local official was sentenced to 13 year in jail by a local court Saturday for covering up a coal mine blast and bribing journalists to keep the incident quiet, according to Beijing Youth Daily.

Li Hongxing, the secretary of CPC Weixian county committee, directed the colliery owner to bribe journalists to keep news of the July 2008 blast in Wenxian, Hebei province secret.

The court of Chongli county of Hebei province charged Li Hongxing with misuse of authority and bribery. 2.6 million yuan ($380,000) was given to ten journalists who were asked to keep silent about the accident.

Li Hongxing is to appeal for a second trial.