EX-POLICE OFFICER GETS DEATH SENTENCE IN CHINA

a former Chinese police officer has been sentenced to death for running a 34-member gang that engaged in murder, extortion and prostitution, Xinhua news agency reported. Fan Zezhong, previously of the forestry police, was sentenced at the Zhaotong Intermediate People's Court in southwest China's Yunnan province. The gang ran its sex business out of a karaoke centre, with Fan recruiting women to work there from as far away as neighbouring Sichuan province. The murders happened during clashes with rival gangs. The 33 other gang members received prison terms between three years and life.