The Supreme People's Court (SPC) approved the death...

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) approved the death sentences handed out by the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court and issued the order of execution for 13 pirates. The Shanwei Intermediate Court held a high profile one-week-long open trial of the gang and delivered the sentences on December 19, 1999. A provincial court turned down the convicts' appeal on January 8, but because a foreign national, an Indonesian named Sony Wei, was given the death sentence, the execution needed to be endorsed by the Supreme Court in Beijing. The gang members were convicted of robbing three ships between August and November 1998, including a Singaporean oil tanker. The prosecution of the 1998 case, in which 23 sailors were murdered on board the freighter Chang Sheng, was seen by some as a sign that China was finally cracking down on rampant piracy and corrupt officials who had tolerated it. Those executed were: Indonesian ringleader Sony Wei, Weng Siliang, Jia Hongwei, Li Changhong, Guo Runpeng, Yang Xiangzhong, Yang Jingtao, Ma Aijun, Liu Beihai, Tian Minghai, Yin Yanbin and Lu Xu. Yang Jingtao, 25, who was convicted of murder and robbery led the singing, jumping up and down despite the chains around his hand and feet. "I want to thank the Communist Party's judicial system and thank my defending counsel for giving me a fair chance," Yang was quoted as telling a group of reporters sarcastically outside the court. Twelve of those executed were convicted of robbery and murder. The 13th man executed, Huang Daming, was convicted of robbery. The men, were locked in the court with relatives, food and rice wine after their sentences were upheld and encouraged to get drunk before being driven to the execution ground. After 30 minutes they were put on to a truck to be executed. Photographs in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post showed the men - grinning, red-faced, cigarettes dangling from their lips and pieces of paper bearing the numbers one to 13 pinned to their clothing - being dragged aboard the truck by soldiers escorting them to the firing squad. As the men were led to their deaths, they belted out Ricky Martin's 1998 soccer World Cup song 'Cup of Life' ('La Copa De La Vida').