A man convicted of illegally making and selling firearms and ammunition was executed in east China Friday after his death sentence was approved by the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Wu Zhiqiao, was convicted and sentenced to death at the Intermediate People's Court in Ningbo, in east China's Zhejiang Province.

It was the first death sentence involving firearms offences to be reviewed and ratified by the SPC since it reasserted its powers to review capital cases in 2007.

In May 2006, Wu, a resident of the southwestern Guizhou Province, began to manufacture shotguns and pistols, which were sold in Zhejiang's Cixi city, the court heard.

One of his customers, Chen Zugeng, was involved in the shootings of four people in Yongkang, Zhejiang, on Sep. 6, 2007. Three of the victims were seriously injured and one suffered slight injuries.

Wu had sold more than 50 guns and about 200 bullets before police arrested him and seized 40 firearms and 160 rounds of ammunition in November 2007.

Wu was sentenced to death by the Ningbo court on April 22, last year.