A SOUTH China court yesterday overturned a life sentence imposed on a migrant worker who took 175,000 yuan (US$24,400 ) from a faulty ATM bank machine and instead jailed him for five years.

The Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province announced the verdict on Xu Ting soon after the court resumed at 3 p.m.

The native of Linfen City in North China抯 Shanxi Province was working as a security guard in Guangzhou when the offences occurred in April 2006. While withdrawing cash from an ATM, Xu realized it had only deducted one yuan from his account for every 1,000 yuan withdrawn. He mentioned this to a friend surnamed Guo.

Xu subsequently withdrew 175,000 yuan in 171 transactions while Guo took 18,000 yuan.

Guo was jailed for a year after turning himself in. Xu remained on the run for a year before being apprehended and sentenced to life for the theft last year.

The sentence imposed on the 24-year-old Xu after the first trial last year sparked an outcry among media and legal experts alike. Many people said he did not deserve such a severe penalty.

The Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou was told by the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court last month to rehear the case. It said the November ruling lacked evidence and some facts needed clarification.

(Xinhua)