A court has sentenced a local gang boss to the death penalty for his part in running a prostitution ring in which 50 middle-ranking officials were involved.

With Chen Kai in charge, a 21-member gang received punishments meted out on Friday by the Nanping Intermediary People's Court in the provincial capital of East China's Fujian Province for organizing prostitution, gambling and for bribing government officials.

The court has found 50 officials worked as a protective umbrella for the gang, and took bribes of just under US$1 million.

With the involvement of former Party deputy secretary of Fuzhou Song Licheng and former Party head of Fuqing, the gang-related case is regarded as the biggest case of corruption like it in the provincial capital.

The court also found that Chen illegally netted 12.09 million yuan (US$1.45 million) and 150 million yuan (US$18 million) through dodging and by contract fraud conducted through his companies.

A group of chiefs responsible for the local police, finances, banking and taxation were found connected to the gang in the investigation that started in the latter part of 2003.

Chen, engaged in the entertainment and real estate sectors for years, was said to be the richest one in Fuzhou before he was arrested in 2003.

(China Daily January 24, 2005)