A former Coast Guard official was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for neglecting his duty to safely evacuate passengers from the sinking ferry last April that claimed more than 300 lives, most of them teenagers on a school trip.

The Gwangju District Court in this southwestern city said Kim Kyoung-il, the former captain of a 100-ton rescue boat at the scene, failed to save those trapped in the ferry Sewol, which sank off the southwest coast on April 16, in one of the nation's worst maritime disasters.

The court said Kim, who was in charge of leading the rescue operation at the scene, failed to take proper measures to remedy the situation.

He was found to have lied to reporters afterward, saying he made announcements telling passengers to evacuate. The court said Kim also fabricated work reports in a similar manner.

"Kim simply asked his subordinates to rescue those who were readily visible and failed to evacuate hundreds inside," Judge Lim Jeong-yeop said in the ruling. "With such negligence, he has scarred the families of the victims for life."

Still, the judge said he took into consideration the fact Kim's responsibility was less grave than the ferry's owner, who overloaded the ship and made structural changes that made it easier to topple.

Kim was immediately taken into custody by court officials. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of seven years for Kim. (Yonhap)