Liu Lihua, a former Beijing hotelier, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzling RMB20 million of public money.

He was arrested in January 2006 and sentenced to 20 years in jail at his first trial on December 11, 2006. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court also fined him RMB20,000.

According to local media, Liu admitted having misappropriated the public money for private use when he was president of the state-owned Beijing Dragon Spring Hotel and Beijing Quanxing Economic Development Company between 1992 and 2000.

In one instance, Liu took RMB180,000 to help his "goddaughter", a former employee at Beijing Dragon Spring Hotel, out of financial difficulties. He also took RMB130,000 to cover his son's medical expenses.

Liu reportedly said in court, "I've done so much for these companies. Is it wrong for me to use public money when my son is sick or I need to buy a house?"