Seven cross-border gang leaders convicted of robbery and kidnapping have been executed in east China's Jiangsu Province, according to Xinhua yesterday.

Jiangsu People's High Court, which had made the final ruling of the case earlier, sentenced seven chief members to death, including ringleader Zhang Xiaodong, and another nine members to two-year stay of execution.

Other members of the gang also received sentences of various lengths.

According to the court, the 28-member gang committed 10 violent crimes in Cambodia and five in China from February 1995 to January 2004, resulting in the death of 17 people from China, South Korea and Cambodia.

It was reported earlier that the gangsters stole 6,500 yuan (US$812), US$25,190 and HK$9,000 (US$1,100) as well as automobiles and motorcycles during these crimes.

According to Huang Ming, head of Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Public Security that was responsible for the investigation, they sent 60 experienced staff to Cambodia 20 times to collect evidence.

The gang, made up of people from several provinces in China, disturbed Chinese migrants and native residents in Cambodia for years, according to Huang.

A 39-year-old woman surnamed Qin from Jiangsu Province was reportedly kidnapped and killed in Cambodia by gangsters in December 2003, which immediately led to investigation by Jiangsu police.

According to Zhou Yongkang, minister of Public Security, the detective work on this case set a good example for cross-border co-operation to curb violent groups.

The policemen also solved another 11 cases involving rape, kidnapping and theft aimed at Chinese people in Cambodia while they were investigating the case, according to the court.

(China Daily July 4, 2006)