Four members of a family-run gang that kidnapped dozens of children in one of the worst abduction rackets in modern Chinese history have been executed, state media said yesterday.
The four, led by 37-year-old Chen Qifu, had their death sentences read out Friday at the People's Intermediate Court in Guiyang, capital of southwestern Guizhou Province, the Xinhua news agency's Internet service said.
Immediately afterwards, they were led to the execution ground and killed with shots to the back of the head, according to the agency.
The courtroom was crowded with people wishing to hear the sentencing of the gang, which kidnapped at least 60 children from 1995 until late 1999.
Many were parents who had never been reunited with their missing children, and some had to be restrained by guards when they tried to attack the four condemned, the news agency said.
One of those present at the courthouse was Guo Mingfen, a fruit vendor whose son, Heyun, disappeared six years ago.
"He's more than nine years old now and should be in the third grade of elementary school," she said according to the agency. "But I've no idea where he is."
Another, Xie Dazhi, had brought his six-year-old son, Dongdong, one of the gang's many victims, who had been sold to a family in neighboring Guangdong Province.
Dongdong, who had been stripped naked and beaten by gang leader Chen during his captivity, has still not recovered from his ordeal and was less talkative and happy than before, his father said.
After members of the gang were arrested in late 1999 and early 2000, police rescued more than 40 children who had been abducted and mostly put up with peasant families.
Despite intense media attention given to the case, about 10 children have yet to be reunited with their parents and are still accommodated at the Guiyang City Children's Welfare Center.
The full extent of the gang's activities may never be known, but a Guiyang-based organization of parents of missing children has collected data on more than 200 cases of abduction, according to the agency.
The gang members showed varying degrees of remorse in the last hours before their execution.
Female gang member Qi Dengying was close to hysteria, making a tearful plea for mercy before the judge and claiming that Chen had hoodwinked her into participating in the kidnappings.
The kidnappings came to light in December 1999 when police arrested Chen after he was seen by bystanders trying to grab a boy in Guiyang, according to previous media reports.
Chen later admitted he and several members of his family had committed dozens of kidnappings.
Police arrested at least 28 people in connection with the case and seized villas and vans worth more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000) from the gang members.
The children were sold in Guangdong Province for prices that in some cases exceeded 10,000 yuan.
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