Hong Kong (CNN) A Chinese court has sentenced six men over their part in a botched attempt to "outsource" a contract killing through an elaborate chain of intermediaries.

The men were charged with intentional homicide and received prison sentences of up to five years in Guangxi province on October 17, according to a verdict posted by the court online.

The murky case, which some in China have viewed as something of a parable of modern life and the dangers of corruption, began when real estate developer Tan Youhui contacted an alleged hitman in October 2013, with a request to kill a business competitor, surnamed Wei.

The hired man, Xi Guangan, received two million Chinese yuan ($282,600) to kill Wei, who had filed a lawsuit against Tan's company over a dispute arising from a development project, the court said

Xi took the money and outsourced the job to another would-be hitman, Mo Tianxiang, while keeping half of the initial amount.

The six men were charged with intentional homicide after staging and outsourcing a murder plot in China's southern Guangxi province.

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