China executes another gang boss in crackdown

A top gangster in western China has been executed amid a major crackdown on organized crime, state media said Wednesday.

Wang Xingping, 39, was put to death Tuesday after being convicted last year of murder, robbery, gun running, drug trafficking, bribery and operating illegal casinos, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

He is the second gang boss to be executed in the crackdown in the sprawling city of Chongqing that has netted hundreds of suspects, including 14 high-ranking government and police officials. A man who ran a separate gang, Chen Ming, was put to death Nov. 26, Xinhua said.

The report said 18 other members of Wang's gang had been convicted and given penalties ranging from two years in jail to a suspended death sentence.