The leader of an organized crime gang has been sentenced to death and 33 members received jail terms of up to life imprisonment in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Fan Zezhong, a former forestry police officer, of Zhenxiong County, was convicted of murder, extortion and organizing women for prostitution between May 2004 and September 2005, when he headed the 34-strong gang, the Zhaotong City Intermediate People's Court heard on Friday.

Three members of the gang were sentenced to life imprisonment and the others got three years to 20 years in jail.

The trial began on June 27 and lasted until July 3.

Fan founded a karaoke center illegally in early 2005 and procured "many women" to work as prostitutes there, the court heard. Fan even drove to neighboring Sichuan Province to procure women for prostitution.

The gang killed two people in separate assaults with other gangs, the court said.

The gang was also convicted of assaulting more than 20 student minors and extorting 38,900 yuan (US$5,186) from them.

"The gang carried out a number of illegal activities... and seriously damaged local economic and public order," the court said.

Police arrested Fan on Dec. 5, 2005. All other members of the gang were detained prior to or after Fan's arrest.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2007)