A MAN who was involved in a murder 16 years ago was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan (US$4,313), according to Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

The man, surnamed Zhu, was a member of a gambling gang. The gang, led by another man surnamed Lin, was formed in the 1990s and was based in Xixiang and Xin’an subdistricts in Bao’an District.

With a clear hierarchy and many members, the gang would commit violent crimes such as assault, robbery, vandalism, extortion and illegal detention. The gang also opened casinos, practiced usury and offered bribes to public officers to help its members evade punishment.

Zhu and Lin operated two casinos in Bao’an and were in charge of giving out salaries to the gang members.

On March 29, 2001, a male gang member surnamed Zhuang went up to a female member surnamed Wang and said he had won an illegal lottery. As Wang wasn’t sure if she had written the bill for Zhuang, the latter asked another gang member for help.

A member surnamed Mo, who had commissioned Wang to bill Zhuang for the lottery, refused to cash the lottery ticket and said he would not do so even if Lin, the head of the gang, approached him.

Mo’s words reached Lin’s ears, and the next day, Lin and his gang members approached Mo to negotiate, which subsequently turned into a quarrel. Zhu and others took out knives and axes and killed Mo during the fight.

Zhu was arrested in Guangzhou in May 2017. (Zhang Yu)