A billionaire political figure has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after a Chongqing court found him guilty of leading a crime gang.
Li Qiang, and 30 gang members, stood trial at the municipality's Intermediate People's Court on nine charges including being involved in organised crime, disrupting public transport, disturbing social order, concealing account books, bribery and tax evasion.
Li, who owned four companies in the real estate and public transport sectors and was a delegate of the Municipal People's Congress, was also fined 5.2 million yuan (HK$5.89 million).
He was reportedly the mastermind behind a taxi strike in November 2008 involving more than 8,000 vehicles. As the owner of one of the top five taxi firms in the municipality, he ordered his drivers to stop work and sent hoodlums to smash any cabs that were operating, and beat up the drivers. The strike triggered strikes in other cities.
Among his accomplices were three officials from transport departments who were convicted of involvement in gang-related crimes and taking bribes. Li is one of 14 suspected triad bosses arrested in the city since late June.
In a separate trial yesterday, two other bosses were convicted. Chen Zhiyi received a death sentence and Deng Yuping, a death sentence with a reprieve.
