A lawmaker in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang was jailed for 20 years on Tuesday, convicted of running a gang, tax evasion, instigating affrays, illegal possession of guns and other violent crimes.

Wu Ning, 46, former board chairman and general manager of the Nanfeng Business Group Co. Ltd., had run the gang since 1988 when he started from a wholesale shop, according to the Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court.

The gang oppressed others in the same trade through intimidation and violence in the city's Tiexi District, the court heard.

In 1998, Wu founded Shenyang Nanfeng Real Estate Co. Ltd. and then reinvented himself as a local political advisor and lawmaker, the court heard.

Meanwhile, he bribed government officials to offer an umbrella for his violent crimes and illegal economic gains, it heard.

Media reports said a number of police officers had been prosecuted for taking bribes from him.

Wu was arrested in January last year when he was a deputy to the Shenyang Municipal People's Congress, the local legislative body.

The other 17 members of the gang were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from one year to 18 years on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2008)