The original sentence of a former electrical appliances tycoon has been halved to five years and two of the three charges have been dropped, annouced China's Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Gu Chujun [File photo: VCG]

Gu Chujun, former chairman of refrigerator maker Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings, was arrested in 2005. A final court ruling by Guangdong Higher People's Court in 2009 sentenced Gu to 10 years in prison for falsifying and withholding information and embezzlement. He was also fined 6.8 million yuan (1.03 million U.S. dollars).

In September 2012, after serving his term in prison, Gu filed a petition to the SPC.

The SPC sent his case to the Guangdong Higher People's Court for investigation in 2013. During the investigation, Gu continued to petition the top court.

The SPC said in a statement in 2017 that it reviewed Gu's case and believed that the case was eligible for a retrial according to China's criminal procedure law.