Three death sentences were handed down on Wednesday in the biggest murder and robbery case of the year.

The 17-person gang, involved in the killing of four people and robbery of over 1.4 million yuan (US$170,000), appeared in the capital's No.1 Intermediate People's Court.

The principal offenders, Hou Shihao, Wang Haiwen and Hu Yongliang, were all sentenced to death.

Hou, 28, had been released in 1998 after serving a six and half year conviction for robbery and rape. Thirty-three-year-old Wang and Hu, 22, had each previously been sentenced to two years for theft.

Another two members' death sentences were suspended for two years, which usually means that as long as they do not commit any serious offenses whilst in custody during that time they could expect to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Eleven were sentenced to terms ranging from 20 months to 20 years. One was sentenced to a year in jail with a two-year suspension.

Arrested between May and July of last year, the gang members are from Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang and Shandong, according to court officials.

Most of the gang's victims were drivers of illegal taxis in Beijing who were forced to drive to remote areas where they were robbed. They were murdered if they refused to give up their money or their cars, officials said.

From January 2002 to May 2003, the gang committed 36 robberies and?four murders in Beijing and Hebei Province.

(China Daily December 16, 2004)