Last month, 43-year-old farmer Shi Jianfeng was sentenced to life in prison for the most heinous of crimes: not paying highway tolls. So Shi's younger brother tried to take the fall for him, saying he had bribed the proper authorities.

Over the course of nine months, according to China's Global Times newspaper, Shi Jianfeng drove his farm trucks on the Zhengzhou-Yaoshan highway exactly 2,361 times. The court that sentenced Shi to life in prison said he had evaded $557,800 in tolls and used fake military license plates, which (when real) exempt a vehicle from having to pay. But if they're forged, as the court charged, you're going to prison for the rest of your life.

When Shi's younger brother, Shi Junfeng, learned of the stiff sentence, he turned himself in saying he had bought the military plates off two local police officers. He offered as proof a one-year contract for military plates signed by the two officers. The next day, the sentence was dropped, the judges were fired and charges are now pending against them. Oops!

Unsolicited advice for criminals: Don't sign an invoice for the crime you're committing. Just a thought.

[Image via AP]