Five people were sentenced to death in China's westernmost...

Five people were sentenced to death in China's westernmost Xinjiang Autonomous Region in a trial touted as the region's biggest ever mafia court case, state press said.
Three of the five were given a two-year reprieve when they were sentenced, meaning their sentences could later be commuted to life in prison, the Legal Daily reported.
The sentences came after a court at the Aksu region convicted mafia ring leader Shen Dawen and 37 others of 43 counts of fraud, the illegal raising of funds, assault, and harming economic and social order, the report said.
The gang was also convicted of beating and detaining people, armed robbery, hijacking vehicles, extortion and illegal gambling.
Their crimes were committed in Aksu in western Xinjiang between 1998 and 2002, it said. Shen was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve while his two chief lieutenants, Chen Liren and Zhang Liwei, were sentenced to death.