CHINA THREATENS DEATH PENALTY FOR COPPER THIEVES

China is threatening the death penalty for people who steel copper wire, thereby destroying power lines and disrupting telecommunications, state media said. The stern warning comes amid a wave of cases in which people have stolen copper wire to sell to recycling businesses amid desperate demand for the metal caused by a booming economy, the China Daily reported. It said the Supreme Court had ruled thieves could receive the death penalty if their actions risk causing fatal accidents. The death penalty is also an option if thieves cause blackouts that affect more than 10,000 people for more than six hours, or result in economic losses of more than one million yuan (130,000 dollars), the paper said. In Shanghai alone, more than 30 people have been sentenced to jail terms in recent weeks for stealing copper wire, with one person condemned to seven years in jail, the newspaper reported.