Guo seeks lighter sentence as first time offender
A Chinese Internet celebrity has been sentenced to five years in jail and fined 50,000 yuan ($7,840) for illegal casino operations, the Beijing Dongcheng People's District Court announced on its official Sina Weibo on Thursday.
Guo Meimei were charged for organizing gambling activities in an apartment, the court said.
Guo, 24, gained notoriety in China in 2011 when she claimed to be the manager of an organization under the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and flaunted her wealth and extravagant lifestyle on social media.
The scandal affected the reputation of the RCSC and triggered public concern over the possible embezzlement of charity funds. The RCSC suffered a huge drop in donations after the Guo scandal.
Guo was arrested in August 2014 after the Beijing police cracked down on online football gambling activities. Guo was held on suspicion of running gambling activities, engaging in prostitution and posting false information on her website during the 2013 World Cup.
Prosecutors said Guo organized three gambling sessions in March, June and July at an apartment in Beijing's Chao-yang district involving 2.1 million yuan.
Guo admitted inviting people to high-stakes poker games at an apartment in Chaoyang district, but denied illegally running a casino.
She told the court that she was sorry and hoped to get a lighter sentence as a first-time offender.
"The amount of money and people involved in the gambling activities, and whether the suspect pleads guilty will affect the verdict. The verdict was stiffer than a similar case because of Guo's influence on society as a celebrity and her attitude," Zhou Hao, a lawyer from the Beijing-based Jia An Law Office, told the Global Times.
Thursday's trial did not include her alleged involvement in prostitution or her relationship with a "sugar daddy," a businessman surnamed Wang, who was arrested in July 2014.
Guo was arrested in August for running a casino. Police found Guo, 23, was addicted to gambling and travelled frequently to Macao, Hong Kong and even foreign countries to engage in gambling.
In June, Guo said on her microblog that she would seek to "play a role" in the World Cup in Brazil, hinting that she may hold betting operations on the games.
Guo also hired professional players to deal and cash up. For each game, the bets of which usually surpassed 1 million yuan, Guo raked in 3 to 5 percent as kickback. Police detained her on July 14.
Guo appeared on China Central Television (CCTV) after her arrest to apologize for her luxurious lifestyle and damaging the RCSC's reputation.
