A farmer in northern China found guilty of doctoring photos of an endangered tiger after collecting a cash reward from wildlife authorities, has been handed a lighter sentence on appeal, local media said on Tuesday.
Zhou Zhenglong, a 54-year-old farmer from a mountainous county in northern Shaanxi province, was awarded a 20,000 yuan bonus last year, after he produced pictures which authorities said were evidence of a South China tiger.
The pictures, which showed a tiger crouching in a forest setting, sparked an Internet furor led by experts who identified the photos as faked, and local media who accused officials of endorsing them as a means of promoting tourism in a poor region.
After months of dithering, authorities finally admitted the pictures were fake and sacked a swag of officials for their part in the scandal.
Zhou, who had been given a 2 and year jail term for fraud and illegally possessing bullets in September, had the ...