Seventeen farmers received sentences ranging from imprisonment...

Seventeen farmers received sentences ranging from imprisonment to the death penalty from the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court after being found guilty of nearly 100 counts of grand theft. Three of the suspects, all of whom are from Henan Province, were sentenced to death and deprived of their political rights for life, while two others were sentenced to death with a stay of execution and also deprived of their political rights for life. Another four were sentenced to life imprisonment, and the remaining eight were given prison terms ranging from one year and 11 months to 20 years. The farmers were found guilty of 53 counts of robbery, 40 counts of grand theft, two counts of murder and two counts of assault between December 1998 and May 2001. According to the court their criminal activities resulted in the death of two people, with another two seriously injured.