Bloomberg reported that a former chairman of Sichuan Hanlong Group has been handed out the death sentence for crimes that included murder and leading an organized crime organization in the mainland. Liu Han, along with his brother Wei and three others, were sentenced to death by the Xianning Intermediate People's Court, according to the court's official Weibo account. Five people were also give a two-year probation along with death penalties, which means that their sentences could be commuted to life in prison.
Liu was considered to be one of the top 500 richest people in China at a $650 million fortune based fron a wealth ranking publication courtesy of Shanghai-based Hurun Report in September last year.
Bloomberg said Liu's sentencing signaled the progress of President Xi Jinping's promise to tackle gangland tactics within business and state affairs via his anti-graft campaign. Aside from heading a large company in China, Liu had also served as a member of a political advisory body called the Sichuan provincial Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Three of the people in Liu's group who have been handed out death sentences today were government officials. The official Weibo statement named former police officers Liu Xuejun and Lv Bing at Sichuan city of Deyang, and Liu Zhongwei, the former deputy prosecutor general at the city of Shifang as the officials sentenced to 16 years, 11 years and 13 years in prison for accepting bribes and aiding to hide crimes.
As a result of the trial of Liu's group, his company Hanlong Group was also levied a 300 million yuan ($48 million) for fabrication of financial documents. Bloomberg added that the five who were given death sentences without probation will have their assets confiscated as well.
Liu's sentencing would probably signal the end of the investigation ordered by the Communist Party, which started in March last year. According to the statement, Liu was already suspected of being involved in Mafia-like activities for over ten years, which resulted to the deaths of eight individuals.
