Keeper of Henan sex-slave dungeon, Li Hao, sentenced to death
Sentence caps off horrific case in which former fireman held half a dozen women captive for months, sold them into prostitution and killed 2
A Henan man who imprisoned six women in an underground cell, used them as sex slaves for between three and 21 months and killed two of them was sentenced to death yesterday, mainland media reported.
The Intermediate People's Court of Luoyang found Li Hao, a 35-year-old former firefighter, guilty of murder, rape, organised prostitution, illegal detention and spreading pornography for profit, Xinhua reported.
It said one of the women locked up by Li had been jailed for three years for helping him murder two of the other women. Two of his other prisoners were given suspended jail terms for taking part in one of the murders, with their lenient treatment due to the extraordinary circumstances of the case.
A lawyer in Changsha who has kept a close eye on the case said Li's death sentence was predictable, but she could not agree with the verdicts for the three women.
"I was shocked when hearing of their verdicts because they were victims in this sex-slave scandal," said Zhang Yan , who had attempted to represent the women in court. "When the scandal was disclosed, I immediately headed to Luoyang to lobby the city legal office, public security bureau, women's federation, legal aid office and other departments, but none of them allowed me to take the case."
Zhang said information released by the police indicated that all the women had suffered inconceivable mental and physical torture.
The survivors were rescued in September last year after one prisoner managed to escape and reported the case to police.