Paying the price for dealing in death

Sentences

Heng Tinghan , foreman, life sentence

Zhao Yanbing , kiln supervisor, death sentence

Wang Bingbing , kiln owner, nine years in jail

Yang Xiaolan , Heng's wife, two years in jail, suspended for three years

Heng Mingyang , Heng's brother and kiln supervisor, two years' jail

Liu Dongsheng , kiln supervisor, two years' jail

Timeline

June 5 About 400 Henan and Shanxi parents make a public appeal on the internet for the rescue of hundreds of children forced to work under brutal conditions in brick kilns.

June 10 CCTV broadcasts footage of crackdowns on illegal kilns in Linfen and Yuncheng .

June 15 President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao order an investigation into the scandal.

June 16 Kiln foreman Heng Tinghan is arrested in Hubei after fleeing raids at the end of May.

June 20 Mr Wen heads a meeting in which he pledges to crack down on illegal kilns, rescue slaves and protect workers' rights.

July 5 160 suspected kiln bosses in Shanxi are detained and at least one village-level Communist Party secretary is expelled from the party.