SHANGHAI, Mar 13 -- A GOVERNMENT official in north China's Shanxi Province and his mistress have been jailed for hiring roughnecks to assault a subordinate.

The convicts are Zhang Tao, vice director of the banking regulatory administration in Yuncheng City, and his mistress Qiu Lianying, a Shanxi newspaper reported yesterday.

Zhang was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and Qiu was sentenced to two years.

The attack happened on February 8 last year, the report said.

Zhang Fuqiang, an official of the administration, together with another official Jia Mengfei, left their homes at 7:40am to catch up with the shuttle bus for work.

Three strong men suddenly rushed out of a minibus toward Zhang, carrying swords.

Zhang was chopped nine times, and Jia was hacked twice in the arms, the newspaper reported.

Seeing the pair lying in a pool of blood, the three attackers got onto the minibus and fled.

Colleagues of Zhang and Jia moved them onto a shuttle bus and sent the two to hospital.

The wound in Zhang's left chest didn't become fatal, thanks to the mobile phone in the left upper pocket of his coat.

However, Zhang had no idea who had such a fierce grudge against him.

Police caught several suspects eight days later and discovered that a woman about 20 years old ordered the attack inside the minibus.

The woman, Qiu Lianying, finally confessed she was Zhang Tao's mistress and that she ordered the attack for him. She said Zhang told her that Zhang Fuqiang often secretly reported his faults to higher officials. In January last year, Zhang Tao showed her a group photo of the administration employees and pointed out Zhang Fuqiang. Qiu then asked her younger brother Qiu Yingjie to find someone to ambush Zhang Fuqiang.

Qiu Lianying also paid the men participating in the assault.

The two victims said they previously had no personal resentment against Zhang Tao.