A Seoul court has sentenced a Chinese fugitive wanted for murder in his home country to 10 months in prison for falsifying his identity to seek naturalized South Korean citizenship, court officials here said Tuesday.

The 30-year-old man, known by the surname of Liang in China, entered South Korea in May 2006 using a fake passport after being put on the wanted list for killing a man after an argument in Changan, China, court records showed.

He was naturalized as a South Korean citizen surnamed Kim with permission from the Justice Ministry in 2007 but was accused by the authorities early this year of falsifying his identity.

The trial was focused on determining whether Kim and Liang are the same person, with Kim’s mother claiming that the two are different people.

“Evidence presented to the court showed that Kim and Liang are the same person,” Judge Lee Seok-jae of the Seoul Central District Court said in a ruling.

“High-quality photographs of Kim and Liang put through a facial recognition system verified a 62 percent match,” the judge said, adding that all of Kim’s personal information was forged.

Last year, the Justice Ministry adopted tightened security measures during the naturalization process, requiring foreigners to provide fingerprints and photos when they pass through immigration upon arrival. (Yonhap News)