It began when one student, known only by his surname Xu, discovered he could obtain a free coupon and use it an unlimited number of times.

Xu used the loophole to buy meals for himself, but later began selling the meals and coupons to others for profit and taught his methods to four other students.

The total economic damage to KFC’s Chinese franchise was over 200,000 yuan (around €25,500), Global Times reports.

Convicted of fraud and imparting criminal methods, Xu was jailed for two-and-a-half years and fined 6,000 yuan (around €760).

The other four students were slapped with sentences between 15 months and two years, and fined between 1,000 yuan and 4,000 yuan (roughly €125–€500).