A restaurant boss who failed to pay 133 workers 807,000 yuan ($124,000) has been sentenced to two years in jail and fined 50,000 yuan.

The verdict against Song Tao was handed down at the Zhongshan No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Thursday after Song failed to pay staff at his eatery in Zhongshan, Guangdong province.

Xu Hongxiang, the presiding judge, said there was no doubt Song had committed the crime of refusing to pay his workers' salaries and that his actions had a significant social impact.

"Song, who had gone on the run after falling into arrears with his workers' salaries, deserves serious punishment, but he did adopt a very good attitude after he was detained," Xu told the court.

Song said at the court that he did not accept the verdict and vowed to appeal to a higher court.

The restaurateur, originally from Liaoning province, had run two diners in Zhongshan.

He continued to withhold pay from his workers even after local human resources and social security departments attempted to mediate in the case.

Song fled in 2014 and was detained in June 2015 after workers sought help from the police.

Zhong Daochun, a senior judge at the Guangdong High People's Court, said the sentence should act as a deterrent for other bosses who refuse to pay workers' salaries and will help build a harmonious society in Guangdong, which has more than 23 million migrant workers.

According to Zhong, courts across Guangdong handled a total of 158 cases of overdue salaries in 2015 involving 170 defendants.

Of those, 132 cases involving 144 people have been concluded, with 99 people receiving jail terms.

Zhang Libo, deputy director of the Zhongshan city bureau of human resources and social security, urged workers in the city not to hesitate in seeking help from the government and called on them to use legal means to protect their interests if their salaries are not paid on time.

Li Weiliang, a deputy of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, said Song's case will sound an alarm among businesspeople who are considering fleeing while owing wages to workers.

"Business bosses should also seek help from the government and settle their business problems and disputes with workers through negotiations," Li said.