Alleged gang bosses have claimed they were tortured by police or detained in illegal jails in order to extract confessions.

The allegations were made as the second wave of gang trials kicked off yesterday at the Chongqing No 2 intermediate people's court.

Police escort suspected gangsters into court before an organized crime trial yesterday in Chongqing. [China Daily]

Chen Zhiyi and Deng Yuping, who are alleged to have run a 22-member mafia-style gang, said in court that the gang was not an organized one and they were either extorted into confessing or imprisoned in illegal jails by police.

Along with four other people with suspected connections to the gang, they are charged with 22 crimes including leading or participating in a mafia-style gang, killing three people and running illegal gambling dens.

More than 200 people heard the trial in court, mainly family members of the accused. Another 100 people gathered outside the court gate to hear live broadcast of the case.

"I admitted to the crimes after police from Fengjie county tortured me," said 43-year-old Chen in court yesterday morning.

"They did not allow me to sleep, and I still feel like I'm in a trance right now. They beat me and tied me to a stool. My hands are numb.

"I was asked to sign documents, which were switched with a new one for me to sign. I couldn't understand the wording of the confession," said Chen, who had only finished primary school.

His defense-attorney asked the court to verify Chen's wounds, a request rejected by the president judge who said the process could be done outside court later.

Yesterday, Chen confessed he had assigned an alleged key member of his gang, Yang Quan, 36, to injure two men and admitted he operated gambling dens with the gang's No. 2, Deng Yuping.

But he denied another nine charges against him including robbery, possessing and trading of guns.

The case is kicking off the second batch of trials following the city's massive crackdown on gangs that began in June, which has resulted in more than 2,900 suspected gangsters or officials protecting them being detained.

Deng, 45, who used to work for the Yubei district tax bureau, claimed he was sent to illegal facilities for detention.

"My head was covered when I was being transferred to different places, so I didn't know where I was during the police investigation. But I heard police tell me I was in the 'base' or on the way to a 'happy farmhouse'," he said in the court.

His defense attorneys also said that when they drove to the police bureau of Fengjie county, where they were told Deng was being held, they could not find him there.

Other people who heard the trial told China Daily that they were struck by the ringleaders' rejection of the confessions.

"A ducking stool should be a punishment used in war time to torture captives," said a security guard in his 20s who refused to identify himself.

"But we can't be overly skeptical before their allegations are verified. He may be fabricating things to lessen his sentence," the man added.

Prosecutors said Chen started to assemble his associates in 2001, and the gang that gradually took shape and structure in 2004 gained power in Yubei district.

Soon after, the gang intentionally caused injuries, ran gambling dens and illegally detained others in order to make money. It also found shelter from police officials, who allowed it to continue its activities and seriously affected the local economy and disturbed the social order.

In 2008, prosecutors said the gang pulled Deng in and leveraged his relations with rich entrepreneurs and government officials whom they cherished as premier gambling guests.

After that, gambling dens entrenched in classy hotels in and around the Yubei district earned 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) in profits for the gang.

Chen therefore required his gangsters to consider Deng their "god of wealth", and set Deng as equally important as him for the gang's leadership.

Also on trial yesterday was a former political instructor for a police division in Yubei district, Cai Shuqing, who allegedly helped the gang escape punishment and informed it before police raids, according to the indictment.

Cai is accused of protecting mafia-style gangs.