18 jailed over organized crimes in SW China
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A local court on Monday sentenced 18 people to jail terms of up to 20 years for their involvement in organized crimes in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
Among them, 12 were members of the Yushan Gang in Weng'an County who were convicted of organizing the mafia-style gang, racketeering, illegal mining, operating gambling dens, intentional injuring, rape and many other offences.
The 12 received jail terms ranged between 5 and 20 years respectively, according to the verdict by the People's Court of Weng'an County.
The other six, who had served official posts, were convicted of taking bribes and harboring gang members. They were sentenced to 3-12 years in prison, the court ruled.
Court investigations confirmed the gang had left dozens of people injured and caused serious damages to public and private assets between 1994 and June 2008, including 4 million yuan (585,652 U.S. dollars) in losses of state-owned mining resources.
Members of the gang also participated in the violent protest on June 28 last year, mobbing government office buildings and setting fires to them.
Up to 30,000 people were involved in the protest sparked by the death of 17-year-old Li Shufen. Her family and relatives contended she was raped and killed, while an autopsy report said she drowned.
About 160 offices and more than 40 vehicles were torched during the protest, while more than 150 police and protesters were injured. No deaths were reported.
The court will continue to hear cases against another 100 suspects involved in the gang crimes of Yushan.
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