CHINA SENTENCES FIVE GANG MEMBERS TO DEATH FOR RAPE

a Chinese court sentenced to death the ringleader of a juvenile gang responsible for the rape of more than 40 girls, the Xinhua news agency said. Guo Hongzhen received the sentence from the Bozhou Intermediate People's Court in the eastern province of Anhui. The court also handed down the death penalty with a two-year reprieve to four other gang members, life imprisonment to five and jail terms to more than 30 others. The gang, whose members included more than 40 juveniles, raped middle school students and other underage females in Woyang county between 2004 and 2006, either by force or by using drugs or alcohol. The youngest of the defendants was only 13 and the oldest was 20 when they committed the crimes.