CHINA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES FOR 10

the higher people's court in north China's Hebei Province upheld a ruling sentencing 10 members in a "Mafia-like group" to death. The court also upheld suspended death penalties for four gang members, handed down by the Shijiazhuang Municipal Intermediate People's Court in June, 2007.
Ringleaders Zhang Baoyi, Gao Yuehui, He Pidong and their accomplices were convicted of crimes including murder, robbery and extortion.
The gang was involved in 38 cases of organized crime, in which 10 people were murdered and more than 20 others injured.
The higher court in Hebei will submit the death penalties of the 10 defendants to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) for review and approval.