Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed...

Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed despite doubts over his confession, in a ruling that marked the first time the Supreme Court has circumvented China's two-trial criminal law system.
Immediately after the sentencing, Liu was sent to a crematorium where he was administered a lethal injection in a mobile execution van, officials said.
"Liu Yong was executed in an execution van through lethal injection," an official surnamed Zhang at the crematorium at Jinzhou city, Liaoning province, told AFP.
Liu was originally sentenced to death in April 2002, but during his appeal it was revealed that his confession had been extracted through torture and in August this year he was given a two-year reprieve by the Liaoning high court.
A reprieve on a death sentence often results in life imprisonment. Liu's retrial marks the first time in the history of the People's Republic of China that the Supreme Court has bypassed the two-trial criminal law system and issued a different ruling.
He was initially convicted on 32 charges including racketeering, extortion, premeditated assault and illegal possession of firearms. He was accused of amassing some 600 million yuan in illegally gained assets.