MAN EXECUTED IN CENTRAL CHINA FOR SERIAL KILLINGS

junk collector Xiong Zhenlin was executed in Suizhou, in central China's Hubei Province. Xiong was sentenced to death for killing eight people in Luoyang Township on January 4. The victims included five of Xiong's employees, a local resident named Xia Guangxiu, a 43-year-old woman named Zhu Deqing, who Xiong hoped to marry, and Zhu's 2-year-old grandson. In his trial on February 9, the court was told that Xiong decided to "take revenge on society" after his hopes of remarrying were thwarted. He was also in financial difficulties.