CHINESE MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER, ROBBERY

a man from east China's Anhui province was sentenced to death by a Shanghai court for killing four people during two robberies. Tian Long, 32, a former butcher from Yingshang County, Anhui Province, was sentenced at the No.1 Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai City in a first-instance trial. The court heard that on March 13, 2004, Tian killed a woman identified only by her surname as Wang after being interrupted while robbing her house. He then killed her parents for the same reason. He found 8,200 yuan (1,025 US dollars) and fled. On March 15, 2007, Tian demanded money at knifepoint from a man called Qian, and killed him when he resisted. He stole 6,020 yuan (753 dollars), plus 11 dollars. Tian was arrested in Shanghai. He had been jailed for three years after a conviction at Wujin County Court, Jiangsu Province, of robbery in 1995. It is not immediately known whether Tian will appeal.