China Daily reports that husband and wife embezzlers in Guangdong Province have been handed lengthy prison sentences for stealing public funds.

Chen Manxiong received life while his wife, Chen Qiuyuan, was given a 14-year sentence by Guangdong Higher People's Court on Tuesday.

The Chens were found guilty of corruption valued at more than RMB400 million.

Appearing in court on Tuesday, both denied the charges against them.

Chen Manxiong, 45, was a manager at Zhongshan Industrial Development Co Ltd. His wife, 43, was the company's lawyer.

The sentence came after an appeal to a higher court against an initial judgment given by Zhongshan Intermediate People's Court at the end of last year.

While appearing to be a successful couple, the Chens were fanatical gamblers and lost large amounts of public funds at casinos in the Macao Special Administrative Region.

To repay gambling debts, the couple conspired with two officials at the Zhongshan Branch of Bank of China to secure fraudulent loans worth over RMB400 million between 1993 and 1995.

The case is believed to be one of the biggest corruption cases ever to have struck the Chinese mainland.

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