Six gang leaders convicted in the most serious case of crime ring in south China's island province of Hainan were sentenced to death Wednesday, court officials said Thursday.
The Hainan Provincial Intermediate People's Court also sentenced 12 other members of the ring to death with probation, life imprisonment and jail terms between one and 20 years in the first trial.
Court investigation showed that the six principal criminals had organized the crime gang and conducted many serious crimes in the provincial capital of Haikou between 1993 and 1999.
The gangsters had murdered at least five persons and left five others seriously injured as they engaged in illegal activities such as running underground casinos and lottery companies and forcibly monopolizing the local fishing sector.
They were also found guilty of purchasing and selling handguns and even possessing automatic weapons.
The court also ruled that the convicted gangsters should pay economic compensations to their victims.
(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2002)
