Xi’an Yan Ta District People’s Court found the Defendants guilty of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles" and sentenced them to imprisonment for terms varying from one year to one-year and three months. The Defendants fabricated and arranged for media coverage of a fatal accident on a construction site to force the government to mediate a dispute between the construction company and the village where the works were taking place. The Court reasoned that the Defendants conspired to fabricate news to be published on the internet, causing a public disturbance which is chargeable under Article 293 section 1(4) of the Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China. This limb of the section, "causing public disorder" extends to online behavior that causes a public disturbance. Columbia Global Freedom of Expression notes that some of the information contained in this report was derived from secondary sources.