Ref's good behavior earns sentence cut

Disgraced Chinese FIFA referee Lu Jun Wednesday got one-year reduction in sentence for good behavior after the court heard the case.

The Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court heard the case for Lu at Yanjiao Prison in Beijing.

The commuted sentence means the referee is expected to be released from jail in September.

Lu was detained on March 2, 2010, and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in February 2012 after he was convicted of accepting bribes.

The prison had applied to reduce Lu's sentence by one year.

Lu is the only Chinese referee till now to appear in World Cup finals as he officiated the a group stage game between Mexico and Croatia in the 2002 Japan-South Korea World Cup.

According to the latest judicial interpretation, issued by China's top court in April, trials involving official misconduct, including corruption and bribery, and those of inmates who have made great achievements in prison must be open to the public.

The interpretation has been effective since June 1, aiming to make convicts' commutation and release on parole much stricter and more difficult.

It was the first time for a Beijing court to hear a commutation case in such a public way.

Previously, prison staff members mostly handed in applications for commutation or release on parole to courts with accompanying documents.

Such closed hearings meant some inmates, especially convicted officials, often had their sentences reduced. Holding such trials publicly makes the court decisions open to scrutiny.

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