Beijing, Sep 19 (IANS): The China branch of British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been fined three billion yuan ($489 million) for paying bribes.

Following Friday's closed-door trial of the GSK China bribery case, Changsha Intermediate People's Court in central China's Hunan Province ruled that the firm was guilty of "bribing non-government personnel" and imposed the fine, the biggest ever by a Chinese court.

Five individuals with the firm were sentenced to two to four years in prison with reprieves, Xinhua reported.

GSK China, known in the court statement as GSKCI, "resorted to bribery to boost sales of its medical products and sought benefits in an unfair manner", the court statement read.

"(The firm) bribed, in various forms, people working in medical institutions across the country, and the amount of money involved was huge. Five senior executives actively organised, pushed forward and implemented sales with bribery," it said.

Among the five, Mark Reilly, a British national and former manager of GSK China, has been given three years with a four-year reprieve and will be expelled from China.

Another three, namely, former human resource director Zhang Guowei, former vice president and operation manager Liang Hong and former legal affairs director Zhao Hongyan, were given two to three years with reprieves ranging from two to three years.

Former business development manager Huang Hong received three years in jail with a four-year reprieve for bribing and receiving bribes.

According to the court, sentences regarding the five were reduced since they confessed the facts truthfully and were considered to have given themselves up.