SYDNEY: An investment banker who attached a fake bomb around the neck of a Sydney schoolgirl in a bid to extort money from her wealthy family was Tuesday jailed for at least 10 years.

Paul Peters, who was arrested and extradited from the United States in September last year with the help of the FBI, pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated breaking and entering and detaining the teenager for advantage.

The father-of-three, 52, made global headlines when he broke into the multimillion-dollar Pulver family home wearing a mask and strapped a device to 18-year-old Madeleine's neck with a note claiming it was a bomb in August 2011.

Police, bomb squad and other emergency services descended on the scene and Pulver endured a horrifying 10-hour ordeal with experts working into the night to remove the device, only later establishing it was an elaborate hoax.

Sydney District Court judge Peter Zahra sentenced Peters to a maximum 13-and-a-half years in prison, describing it as a "deliberate act of extortion" which had inflicted "unimaginable terror" on him victim.

He will be eligible for parole after 10 years.

The court heard that he was suffering psychiatric problems after his marriage broke down and he lost custody of his children, with Zahra saying he appeared to believe he was an "avenging character" in a novel he was writing.

Prosecutors had described the sensational case as an act of "urban terrorism" fuelled by financial greed. - AFP

• Affin Q1 earnings decline on lower share from associate
• Tenaga unit issues RM1.62b Sukuk for Penang power plant
• Fajar Baru posts RM1.5m net profit, optimistic on growth
• Malaysia's KLCI closes nearly 8pt up, IOI Corp, CIMB advance
• Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI
• Ideal Jacobs steps up expansion in China
• TH Plantations to complete Kalimantan land purchase by June
• Time dotCom in search of more acquisitions
• Battersea Power Station's Phase 1 records RM3.12b sales
• Maybank considering internal, external candidates for CEO
• Instacom bags RM205m telco job in Sarawak
• BToto hopes to list business trust in Singapore end-August
• KLCI up nearly 8pt midday, banks, O&G lead gainers (Update)
• Despite curbs, China's vast hot money triangle flourishes
• RHB Research maintains Neutral on auto sector

• USGS: Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes off Chile
• Yahoo! looks to Tumblr as elixir for revival
• Burial place of Argentina's Videla a mystery
• Britain's Cameron makes personal plea to tax havens
• Beatles guitar auctioned for $408,000 in US

• Golf: Johnson triumphs by one stroke at Mobile Bay LPGA
• Chong Wei urges team-mates to bounce back from shock defeat to Taiwan
• Kien Keat-Boon Heong may not play in Group C tie against Germany
• Koo-Tan’s stunning loss rocks Malaysian camp
• Kjaersfeldt ready to continue strong Danish tradition
• Sindhu shines for India after spectacular performance
• Danial shatters 100m mark as four records fall on opening day
• Pavithraa in sizzling form despite the heat
• Wee Wern relishes playing at unique venue ... a football stadium
• Coach Irving has no doubts Nicol will peak at the right time
• ‘Comeback king’ Timothy lands his second title
• KLHC to the fore again
• New Cheras velodrome may steal limelight from RM80mil Labu project
• Azlan and Zamri do Malaysia proud in ARRC race at Sentul
• Broken clutch lever costs Hafizh dearly in Le Mans

• Please wait.

• MPs can earn up to RM10,000 per month
• Ten important items for you to prepare for the inevitable
• Abdul Wahid and Paul Low taking huge pay cuts
• Professionals warn there is too much of office space in the Klang Valley
• Should Sime Darby also demerge; big values can be created by spinning off companies
• Battersea Power Station's Phase 1 records RM3.12b sales
• Take action against Kian Ming, voter told
• Analysis - Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI
• Liow accepts Astro host apology over blackout posting
• BToto hopes to list business trust in Singapore end-August