Gang bosses on trial after Chongqing crackdown
Yang Tianqing, one of Chongqing's most notorious underworld figures, went on trial yesterday on seven charges ranging from murder and blackmail to illegal possession of firearms.
Yang's appearance marks the beginning of the trials of many Chongqing underworld figures following a massive crackdown which began in June. Yang is among the municipality's 14 main gang bosses,
More than 2,000 gang members and their 'protective umbrella' in the government and police departments have been detained. They range from foot soldiers to the vice-chief of police, a veteran of 16 years in law enforcement.
Yang, 35, was tried yesterday morning with eight other accomplices in a packed Chongqing Intermediate Court No1, as family members, media representatives and about 300 curious members of the public attended amid tight security.
'I had no work, and no income. So what could I have done but start a gang?' Yang reportedly told judges. He was implicated in a hired killing, illegal debt collection and loan-sharking stretching back to 2005.
Another gang boss Liu Zhongyong was tried simultaneously at Court No3.
Liu and his gang were accused of running an illegal coal mine which eventually collapsed and killed two men.
They were also accused of storming into a karaoke room in March last year and killing a man who they said was singing too loudly.
Wen Qiang, head of Chongqing's Justice Bureau and former assistant police chief before his fall in August also faces trial soon.
Wen is the highest-ranking official brought down in the crime blitz.
Despite earlier reports that he was unco-operative during interrogations - he reportedly scorned his questioners, claiming he had taught them every trick they knew - the 53-year-old wept while confessing in a video shown to Chongqing cadres last month, the Chengdu Business Daily reported.
According to mainland reports, Wen accepted hundreds of millions of yuan in bribes, including cash hidden in a fish pond, plus antiques, expensive paintings and even a dinosaur egg.
An exhibition showing items confiscated from gang bosses and corrupt police officers last month, open only to government officials and their families, shocked a wider audience when pictures were leaked online. Photos showed 65 luxury cars, expensive watches and mobile phones, gold, antiques and mountains of narcotics.
The 65 luxury cars on display were among 166 seized. Each was flanked with a placard with its owner's details. The biggest gang bosses mostly drove Bentleys and Lamborghinis.
Wen's sister-in-law, Xie Caiping, also a gang boss, was revealed to have opened a total of 22 casinos - illegal on the mainland - with one located right across from the Chongqing High Court.
She was also accused of paying for the sexual services of 16 young men.
Xie will be tried tomorrow.
