A man convicted of the killing of a Beijing police officer in 2006 was executed by gunshot Wednesday, according to the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court.

Zhang Xinlei, 24, was sentenced to death in November last year for killing 39-year-old Tang Chengwen, a police officer in the suburban Mentougou district on Oct. 22, 2006.

Zhang, along with his cousin, Zhang Xinliang, and a third man, Lu Haihong, accelerated their van laden with stolen cables through a road checkpoint set up by the police, the court had heard. Tang chased and managed to stop the van, but was beaten to death by the cousins.

The court meted out death sentences to both the cousins, but gave Zhang Xinliang a two-year reprieve. The cousins were also found guilty of sabotaging public telecommunications facilities and theft.

Lu was sentenced to five years in jail.

The three stole 197 meters of telecommunications cables on the night of the murder. Phone services to 106 households were cut off.

Another four people were given jail terms from 18 to 30 months for harboring the men, the court said.

The cousins, both from central China's Henan Province, were arrested within four days of the murder in their hometown.

Zhang Xinlei was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for theft by a court in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)