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Update | Logging off: Chinese internet celebrity Guo Meimei jailed for five years for running illegal casinos

She was arrested by Beijing police in July last year – one month after suggesting on her microblog she 'could play a role' in the soccer 2014 World Cup that was just about to start

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Guo Meimei was jailed for five years at Beijing's Dongcheng District Court on Thursday after being convicted of running an illegal casino. Photo: Dongcheng District Court/Weibo

Chinese internet celebrity Guo Meimei and an associate, Zhao Xiaolai, were both jailed on Thursday after being convicted of  running an illegal casino by a Beijing court.

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Guo – who first gained mainland notoriety in 2011 after falsely claiming to work for the state-backed Red Cross Society of China and openly flaunting her wealth and extravagant lifestyle on social media – was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan (HK$61,000) at Dongcheng District Court. She had denied the charge.

 Zhao, who had admitted the charge, was jailed for two years and fined 20,000 yuan.

READ MORE: ‘I like to show off’: Chinese celebrity Guo Meimei confesses to prostitution, gambling charges on state TV

Guo appeared in court dressed in a white blouse and black trousers, wearing glasses and without make-up and her hair tied behind her head – in stark contrast to her glamorous image in the past.

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The court was told she organised three different nights of gambling, involving the use of money totalling 2.1 million yuan (about HK$2.5 million), at an apartment complex in Chaoyang district.

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