CHINA. THREE MEN EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY AND MURDER OF CAB DRIVERS

China executed three migrant workers in Beijing for robbing taxi drivers and killing four of them, state media reported. The three men -- all of whom had failed to find proper work in the Chinese capital -- were leaders of a 17-member crime gang that targeted the city's illegal cab drivers, the Beijing Evening News said.
Unlicensed drivers are generally willing to go to remote areas and operate in the suburbs.
Whenever the drivers put up a fight, the gang would kill them by stabbing them with knives. They discarded the bodies in secluded areas. The gang carried out 39 robberies, including some in people's homes, from 2002 to 2003 in Beijing and neighboring Hebei province. They stole a total of 970,000 yuan (119,605 dollars) and 11 cars, the report said. Another 14 members of the gang were sentenced to between one and 20 years in prison.