A ringleader was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve Tuesday for gang-related crimes in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Yang Jue, 32, was convicted of organizing gang crimes, intentionally injuring people, illegal gun trafficking and other crimes, according to the verdict handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Beihai City.

In addition, 32 members of the gang were given jail terms of up to life imprisonment for similar crimes.

Court investigations showed Yang and his accomplices abducted, injured and blackmailed local residents and ran casinos between 2005 to 2008, which left five people seriously injured. They also monopolized the local beer market, forced selling in the waste recycling market and charged protection fees from shuttle bus drivers.

The gang gained more than 100,000 yuan (14,754 U.S. dollars) through extortion.

The gang carried out violent crimes and seriously disrupted the local economy and society, which deserves stringent punishment, the court said.