2010-04-12 20:12

CHONGQING - A ringleader was sentenced to life imprisonment Monday for gang-related charges in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Wang Xiaojun was convicted by Chongqing's No. 5 Intermediate People's Court of six counts of crime, including organizing and leading a criminal gang, organizing prostitution, running casinos, intentionally injuring people and bribery.

According to Monday's court verdict, Wang also had his political rights deprived for life and all his personal property confiscated.

The court was told that Wang and his accomplices gained more than 170 million yuan (about US$25 million) through organizing online gambling since 2001, and began to operate four gambling game houses in Chongqing two years later.

Since 2004, the gang organized more than 100 women and some young men to engage in sex trade in Chongqing.

The prosecutors alleged that between May 2004 and 2009, Wang also offered bribes well over 1.28 million yuan to five government employees, including Wen Qiang, formerly chief of Chongqing municipal bureau of justice, and Li Hanbin, a former police chief of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Public Security who was assigned to crack down on organized crimes.

In Monday's court trial, Li Hanbin was also convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison for taking bribes worth 256,700 yuan (US$37,600) and conniving at crimes committed by the gang led by Wang, said the court verdict.

The other 22 members of Wang's gang were also found guilty of seven crimes in Monday's court trial and received jail terms ranging from 18 months to 18 years.

Wen Qiang, 55, who stood trial at the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court between February 2 and 7, was charged with bribery, rape and gang affiliations. But no verdict was yet given.