A fugitive who spent seven years on the run was sentenced to eight years in prison for robbery and extortion, Shanghai Zhabei District People's Court said Tuesday.

The 33-year-old defendant, surnamed Cai, robbed his female roommate on July 9, 2004, with the help of his two friends, surnamed Xia and Wang, the court said in a press release.

The three men waited for the roommate at the apartment until she came home from work around 11 pm.

The three threatened her at knife point and tied her up, taking about 2,000 yuan ($315) in cash and a mobile phone from her backpack, according to the court. Cai then bought a camera and took 28 nude photographs of the woman.

Five days later, Cai called the roommate and demanded 2,000 yuan for each nude photo, according to the court. When she met with the three men at a local restaurant to pay the blackmail, police charged in to arrest them, but Cai managed to escape.

He remained at large until December 14, 2011, when he turned himself in at a police station in Anhui Province.

The court said it gave Cai a lenient sentence because he showed remorse by confessing his crime.

Global Times