China bloggers fined for defamation: report

Two Chinese bloggers were ordered to pay about 290,000 yuan (42,478 dollars) in compensation to the widow of film director Xie Jin for claiming he died in the arms of a prostitute, a report said Saturday.

The claim by the bloggers was picked up by numerous Chinese internet sites after Xie's death in October 2008 at the age of 84, Beijing News said.

A Shanghai court on Friday ordered the two men to pay the compensation to Xie's widow Xu Dawen and also ordered them to write a letter of apology to be posted on the internet.

"This trial is unfair, I will not apologise, I will not pay the money and I will appeal," one of the bloggers, Song Zude, told the newspaper.

Song has in the past said he had proof that Xie lived a dissolute life, but has not produced the evidence.

Xie directed his first film, "Woman Basketball Player No. 5" in 1957. He was also known for "The Red Detachment of Women", a Maoist-era political melodrama.