CHANGSHA, Sept. 19 -- The China branch of British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will be fined 3 billion yuan (489 million U.S. dollars) for paying out bribes, according to a Chinese court verdict on Friday.

Following Friday's closed-door trial of the bribery case involving GSK China, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court in central China's Hunan Province ruled the firm was guilty of bribing personnels in the business and imposed the fine, the biggest ever given by a Chinese court.

Meanwhile, five individuals with the firm were sentenced to two to four years in jail with reprieves for their roles in the bribery, the court said.