Death sentence in Chinese mafia trial

A Chinese court sentenced a former top police officer to death Wednesday for allegedly sheltering criminal gangs. Wen Qiang, the former head of the judiciary in the southwestern city of Chongqing, was found guilty of taking more than 16 million yuan (1.7 million euros) in bribes, conniving with organised crime groups, as well as rape and corruption.

Reuters

Wen, who was deputy police chief for 16 years, is the highest ranking official brought to trial in a crackdown on organised crime. Nearly 100 officials have been tried and at least seven people are reported to have been sentenced to death in a crackdown ordered by Bo Xilai, the party secretary in Chongqing.

Wen is accused of raping several women, including B-list actresses, a student and music stars. He had a fleet of luxury cars, many houses and a large collection of antiques and artwork.

At his trial he said he had taken money from others, but it was always in the form of brithday or new year offerings rather than bribes.

His wife, Zhou Xiaoya, was on trial too. She was sentenced to eight years in prison for accepting bribes and sheltering gang members.

Three former police colleagues were sentenced to prison terms.

Huang Daiqiang, former deputy head of the Chongqing criminal police division, was sentenced to 20 years in jail, stripped of his personal property of 300,000 yuan and fined 2.2 million yuan.

Zhao Liming and Chen Tao had personal effects of 100,000 yuan each confiscated. Zhao, the deputy head of Chongqing's public transportation security police division, was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in jail.

Chen, the deputy head of the city's public security police division, was sentenced to 19 years and 6 months in jail.

Wen's sister in law, Xie Caiping, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in November for running illegal gambling dens and drug dealing.

According to Chinese media, Xie, who is known as the Godmother, kept a team of 16 young men to provide her with sexual services.

The Chinese president Hu Jintao has repeatedly called for a continued crackdown on corruption in his country.