Italian court convicts Chinese owner, 2 other Chinese in garment factory fire that killed 7

A court in Italy has convicted the Chinese garment manufacturer and two Chinese managers of manslaughter in a 2013 factory fire that killed seven people in the Tuscan city of Prato.

Judge Silvia Isidori on Monday also read out sentences for the defendants. The stiffest sentence, eight years and eight months, went to Lin You Lan, the owner of the Teresa Moda factory, which churned out cheap clothes in the largely Chinese manufacturing district in Tuscany. Two factory managers, Lin Youli, and her husband, Hu Xiaoping, received sentences of six years and 10 months, and 6 ½ years, respectively.

The fire exposed the pursuit of profit over safety in Italy. Prosecutors alleged the factory's fire exit was blocked by piles of flammable fabric but the defense disputed that.