A former journalist was sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison on Friday as the country continues to crack down on malpractice and corruption in the media industry.

Chen Yongzhou, 27, a former reporter at New Express, was sentenced by a court in Changsha, Hunan province for accepting bribes and damaging the commercial reputation of Zoomlion, a State-owned construction equipment maker in Changsha, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The court investigation showed that from September 2012 to May 2013, Chen published untrue reports in New Express on the financial status of Zoomlion.