Hangzhou Archive

China sentences woman crime boss to 18 years in jail

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: AsiaTags: ,

Chongqing (China), Nov 3 – A court here Tuesday sentenced the head of an organised criminal network to 18 years in prison.

Xie Caiping is dubbed as ‘godmother of the underworld’ in southwest China.

Twenty-one other people, including officials who offered protection to the gang members, were given jail terms ranging from one to 13 years by the Intermediate People’s Court, Xinhua reported.

Xie was found guilty of running a criminal organisation, gambling places and giving bribes to officials, among others. She was also fined 1.02 million yuan ($149,430).

Since September 2004, her gang had made two million yuan ($293,000) in illegal earnings by running more than 10 gambling sites and harbouring those who took drugs, the court heard.

Chongqing administration started a crackdown on criminal organisations in June, exposing deep ties between police and criminals.

China cleans oil spill from freighter

Published: November 2, 2009Posted in: AsiaTags: ,

Hangzhou (China), Nov 2 – Maritime workers cleaned an oil spill at the mouth of the Yangtze river Monday, a day after an Iranian-registered freighter was stranded on rocks off east China.

The freighter ‘Zoorik’ was stranded at around 5 a.m. Sunday at Luhuashan at the estuary of the Yangtze. Thirty-seven people on board, including a two-year-old boy, were rescued.

The freighter was damaged in the accident and fuel began to spill shortly afterwards. By 10 a.m. Monday, oil slick was visible on the water.

Xinhua news agency quoted the maritime bureau as saying that 30 cleaners aboard four vessels had been deployed at the site. But the clean-up was hindered by high winds of up to 100 km per hour.