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A hostel boss in Haikou, the capital of island Hainan Province, south China, was given a six-month jail term for his throwing away the body of a lodger to avoid 'impact on his business,' according to a local court.

The dead, surnamed Lin who was a drug addict, checked in Deng Jincai's Haikou Square Hostel at 10 pm on Feb. 15, 2004 with a woman he had brought along, according to the local-based South China Urban Daily.

They spent the night together and injected drug that night, according to the woman, surnamed Chen.

Chen found Lin was cold at 5 pm next day when she woke up, she asked Deng for help. A check by Deng confirmed that Lin had died. Avoiding what Deng believed ominous implications from the death if made public, he did not report to local police, nor local civil affairs department.

The boss wrapped the body with a bed sheet and quilt and put it in a cardboard box, which he carried using a hired motorcycle and threw into the local Meishe River.

The box floated on the river on Feb. 21 afternoon. Police investigation led to the arrest of Chen who was prosecuted on charges of insulting the body of the dead, the newspaper quoted the court as saying.