SHANGHAI: A man from Guangxi has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for using counterfeit 100-yuan bills, Shanghai Nanhui district court announced on Tuesday.

Mo Qinsong, 34, told the court he purchased 55 counterfeit 100-yuan notes - all with serial numbers starting with "HD90" - from a young man at a Guangzhou railway station on Nov 9. Mo paid only 10 yuan ($1.45) for each note.

Three days later, Mo came to Shanghai seeking a job. The next day, he tried to use 52 fake bills and one real banknote to buy a gold necklace worth more than 5,200 yuan at a jewelry store in Nanhui district's Zhoupu town.