The lengthy career of Shanghai's top gangster appeared at an end
on Tuesday, as the city's No 2 Intermediate People's Court
sentenced him to death.
Li Bin, the self-proclaimed king of Shanghai's underworld, was
found guilty of charges of leading a criminal organization,
trafficking drugs, organizing attacks and illegally possessing
weapons.
His wife and 18 members of his gang, who stood trial alongside
him, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 months to life.
None of them has yet appealed.
Li, 40, started his gang after he was released from prison in
2001. A career criminal, he had already been behind bars six times,
in total spending more than 15 years of his life in jail. His past
crimes included a string of thefts and possession of counterfeit
money.
Working to reestablish his gang he started trafficking drugs
soon after his release, as well as setting up gambling clubs and
unauthorized online gambling networks.
In early 2004, Li harassed and threatened the owner of an
entertainment center in the suburban Baoshan District to hand over
the center, which he established as a base for his gang. The center
was converted into a gambling and drug-taking den, and Li also used
it to stockpile weapons including a shotgun, hunting rifle, air
pistol, knives and spears.
He began organizing online betting on football matches around
the end of 2004, netting nearly 3 million yuan (US$370,000) from
the business, supplementing his income from drug dealing.
Between 2003 and May 2005, Li sold more than 1.1 kilograms of
ecstasy, 0.36 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 8
kilograms of the drug 'ice.'
From early 2004 to May 2005, the gang was involved in numerous
violent incidents, often provoking fights in public places,
attacking police and damaging public and private property.
(China Daily October 25, 2006)