SHIJIAZHUANG -- Duan Yanli, a
former village committee director in north China's Hebei Province, was sentenced
to 20 years imprisonment on Thursday for gang crimes.
Duan, 36, was convicted of organizing illegal gangs to commit crimes
including bribery, possession of guns, organising prostitution rings,
racketeering and gambling from 1997 to 2006, according to the Intermediate Court
of Chengde City.
Duan, former director of Villagers Committee of Nanshange Village in Luanxian
County, was arrested in May last year.
Members of Duan's gang also received jail sentences, the most severe being 19
years, the court said.