Gang-related crimes are bound to capture the public interest under any circumstances, but a recent case in Ordos, in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has raised the bar.

The reason: Nine of the 10 people standing trial on Monday were former police officers.

The bill from the prosecutor's office listed 14 criminal charges against the suspects, including conspiracy involving underworld organizations, assault, rape, bribery, gambling and possession and sale of firearms in Hohhot, the region's capital.

And the titillating details do not stop there. The bill, filed with the Ordos Intermediate People's Court, came not from the local prosecutor, but from an outside one who had been assigned to the case because of the potential for conflict of interest.

Prosecutors said the gang headed by Su He, director of a local police bureau in Hohhot had been organizing crimes in the city for more than a decade, disrupting the social and economic order.

No details about any specific cases were available yesterday. Local media reports said the trial could last five or six days because of the complexity of the case.

The case was not isolated. Police officers are facing gang-related criminal charges in other cities, as well. Thirteen gangsters received prison sentences of one to 20 years from a judge in Shangluo, Shaanxi, in northwest China over the weekend.

The leader of that gang, He Qi, the former deputy director of a local police bureau, was sentenced to 20 years for crimes including organizing underworld organizations, blackmail and embezzlement.

Local media reported that after the verdict was announced, the public gathered around the court and set off firecrackers to celebrate.

And on Monday, the Supreme People's Court announced the sentencing of 61 people involved in three gang-related cases, in Kaifeng, in central China's Henan Province; Jinzhou, in northwest China's Liaoning Province; and Tongling, in east China's Anhui Province. Sentences ranged from death to 10 months in jail.

The death sentence was given to Yu Chongdong, head of a group in Kaifeng. He received the sentence for organizing underworld organizations, assault, robbery, blackmail and forced trading.

In the case in Jinzhou, Li Huo, a former policeman, received a three-year sentence for taking bribes and tolerating organized crime.

Figures from the Ministry of Public Security show that police in China handled 346 gang-related crimes last year.

"Gang-related crime is on the rise in China, as society is undergoing tremendous economic and social changes," Du Hangwei, deputy director of the ministry's criminal investigation bureau, said at a press conference in Beijing.

"Some corrupt officials, including law enforcement officers, are collaborating with the criminals and offering them protection, which makes investigation even harder."

(China Daily February 8, 2007)