Eleven members of a criminal gang went on trial Thursday in Zhengzhou, provincial capital of Henan Province, for a crime spree that involved one murder and several armed robberies.
On December 9, 2000, some of the gang members robbed a branch of the Guangdong Development Bank located at the Yinji Shopping Mall near the Zhengzhou Railway Station, where Zhang Shuhai, a major criminal, shot dead a guard identified as Chang Yujie, which stirred nationwide concern.
In addition, armed with guns and explosives, the gang robbed in Zhengzhou a household, a telecommunication bureau, and a savings office under the China Construction Bank, making off with a total of 2.52 million yuan (about US$300,000) worth of goods and cash, police sources said.
The trial is supposed to last three days.
(People's Daily 08/16/2001)
