中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
In the latest twist in a case that has attracted wide media attention, the younger brother of a farmer sentenced to life in prison for evading highway tolls has turned himself in, saying he was actually the one responsible.
Shi Junfeng, younger brother of the sentenced Shi Jianfeng, turned himself in at around 10 pm Saturday in Yuzhou city in Central China's Henan province, police said.
The younger Shi said he had paid bribes after his brother was detained and was told he would soon be released.
Instead, he was sentenced to life in jail.
The severity of the sentence triggered a public outcry.
The younger Shi said the media attention gave him the courage to turn himself in, Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Sunday.
"I want to speak the truth," he was quoted saying on the way to the police station.
The younger Shi said he had given bribes of 1.3 million yuan on two occasions to a retired mine boss surnamed Tang after police detained his brother and two trucks.
"I heard that Tang was also a government official and his brother-in-law was with the public security bureau," he said.
"They told me that my brother could be released the second day after I gave them the money, but then he was sentenced to life in jail. I felt I was cheated," he said.
The elder Shi was convicted of fraud for using counterfeit military driver's licenses, military ID cards and military license plates to evade highway tolls totaling 3.68 million yuan ($558,000), according to the verdict of the Pingdingshan Intermediate People's Court.
Military vehicles, including those of the Armed Police, do not need to pay tolls.
Tollgate records showed that the elder Shi avoided toll payments 2,362 times from May 2008 to January 2009 and hired people to drive two trucks to transport sand and stone, earning some 200,000 yuan during that period, the court said.
（中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
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