Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced Tuesday that two cases involving serious organized crimes were closed and 74 suspects were convicted.

One case in central Hubei Province implicated 22 suspects and the other in eastern Anhui Province involved 52 ones, said the statement issued by the SPC.

In Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital, the organized crime gang was engaged in illegally purchasing weapons, organizing underground casinos and manipulating transport business. They also murdered five people and seriously injured one, the statement said.

Three prime suspects Li Jun, Sun Jun and Chen Zhongqiao were sentenced to death by the Wuhan city court in August while the remaining 18 suspects received penalty from six months in prison to death reprieve, except one who was free of criminal penalty.

The provincial court rejected the appeals on Monday and the SPC approved the death penalty on the three criminals.

On the other case in Chuzhou City of Anhui Province, two prime suspects Wang Yiqiang and Wang Yigang organized a crime gang to run underground casinos, cheat, steal and illegally take people into custody. They were found bribing several government officials, the SPC statement said.

Wang Yiqiang was sentenced to life in prison by the city court in June while Wang Yigang would stay in jail for 20 years. The rest were sentenced to two years to 20 years in prison.

The provincial court stood with the original verdict on Monday and rejected the suspects' appeals.

"Chinese courts will remain strict over cases of organized crime," said the statement.

SPC President Wang Shengjun had listed organized crimes as one of the major challenges the country faced in public security in his report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) last month.

"The incidence of organized crimes increased fast in the past five years, contributing to the annual 2.77 percent increase of criminal cases in China," he said.

Police across the country reported a crackdown on gangs. In southwestern Guizhou Province, for example, the police have cracked more than 200 gangs so far this year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)