Twelve members of a notorious crime gang went on trial here yesterday in the Guangdong provincial capital.
Reading aloud from an 11-page indictment, the prosecution accused Deng Weibo and Gong Nanmin, the two leaders of the gang, and their cohorts of organizing secret societies, illegally producing, owning and trading weapons, gathering to engage in fights, injuring and blackmailing people and other serious crimes between the second half of 2004 and the first half of last year.
After an investigation lasting more than six months, police finally busted the gang on May 21 last year.
Sixteen gang members were arrested in police raids in the Haizhu, Liwan districts of Guangzhou and its Conghua suburb.
Police also destroyed a secret gun-making facility in the city where they found 27 replica pistols and other part-finished weapons, 558 bullets, various tools and equipment and a radio transmitter.
It was the largest weapon production and trafficking case ever cracked in the province.
Police said Deng and Gong first got involved in organized crime in the second half of 2004 when they operated a protection racket to monopolize the meat and vegetable bazaar in the Lijiao township of Haizhu district.
In December 2004, they converted a former mold factory in the Liwan district into an illegal gun-making facility.
The pair even required their gang members to wear uniforms, sport the same hairstyle and carry walkie-talkies, the police said.
At the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court yesterday, Deng and Gong denied all charges.
A court official declined to comment on the case.
A verdict has yet to be reached.
Questions:
1. How many members were in the Guangdong gang?
2.Name at least two crimes the gang are being charged for?
3. What was so special about the capture of this gang in Guangdong?
Answers:
1.12
2.Organizing secret societies, illegally producing, owning and trading weapons, gathering to engage in fights, injuring and blackmailing people.
3.It was the largest weapon production and trafficking case ever cracked in the province.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
