Three Chinese students accused of kidnapping and torturing a peer in LA, California are set to be sentenced to 6 to 13 years in prison after they pleaded guilty and reached an agreement with local prosecutors on Tuesday.

They would be expelled from the US as well when serving out their jail term, judges said. And a formal court decision of the punishment is expected to be announced early next month.

The three defendants, all of whom were born in 1996, were accused of abducting and torturing a fellow female Chinese student in March in Rowland Heights, an affluent, unincorporated community in Los Angeles County with an almost 60 percent Asian population.

The victim said they beat her, stripped her clothes off and even burned her nipples with lighted cigarettes. She was also forced to the ground to eat sand.

According to the girl's statement, the torture lasted five hours, and the assault left her seriously injured.

The prosecutors dropped charges of torture against them after the three admitted crimes of kidnapping and great bodily injury and assault.

More controversy ensued from the case when the father of one of the defendants tried to pay off a witness, hoping to "settle" the case. He was later arrested for bribery of a witness.

It is revealed that the dispute arose because of jealousy between the victim and one of the female defendants. (kes)

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