A Chinese man has been sentenced to two years in jail after hacking a Red Cross web site launched for the victims of China's recent earthquake.

A Chinese man has been sentenced to two years in jail after he hacked a Red Cross web site set up to collect funds for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

Yang Litao, 23, was found guilty of fraud and sentenced by a court in eastern Jiangsu province, state media reported.

Yang managed to obtain the site administrator’s user name and password and altered details on the site so that donations went straight into his bank account, rather than to the charity, the court heard.

He also infected the site with malware, causing it to be shut down and cleaned. The process took 72 hours, during which time no money could be accepted.

However, the site’s attack tipped off authorities and he was arrested before significant funds could be transferred to his account.

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