CHINA. SIX MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 10 MURDERS DURING CAR ROBBERIES

China sentenced to death six gang members convicted of killing 10 people during car robberies in the Pearl River Delta area and northern parts of Guangdong province.
The six were sentenced by an intermediate court in Qingyuan city in the southern province. They reportedly committed numerous car robberies in eight months in 2004, killing 10 people, with another person missing and two others injured. The gang pretended to want to hire automobiles on the side of roads. Using knives, guns or clubs, they beat and robbed the drivers of motorcycles, cars and vans. They kidnapped the victims and eventually killed them, by slitting their throat or hitting them on the head. Another member of the gang was sentenced to life imprisonment while three others were sentenced to terms of one to 15 years. The court ordered the six defendants to pay compensation to their victims' families totalling 1.6 million yuan (192,770 US dollars).