Three former executives of the State-owned Yunnan Copper Group, China's third-largest copper producer, were sentenced yesterday for bribery and embezzlement, with one receiving the death penalty.

The Intermediate People's Court of Kunming in Yunnan province sentenced Yu Weiping, the group vice-chairman between 2000 and 2007, to death for accepting bribes and embezzling about $10.3 million, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The group's former board chairman, Zou Shaolu, was given a life sentence, but received leniency because he reportedly turned himself in, returned his illegal gains and confessed. Wang Jianwei was jailed 20 years.