Gang of 44 on trial in Guangzhou

A total of 44 people from a major criminal gang were brought to court for trial during a public hearing in Haizhu District People's Court in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Monday.

The suspects, including the gang head Huang Jiantang, 44, were charged with intentionally causing injury, gathering a crowd to fight and illegally running casinos in Conghua, a suburban city of Guangzhou.

Huang and three other major members of the gang, Huang Guoqiang, Huang Weitian and Zhu Yiming, are from Conghua.

Huang and his gang were also accused of using force and acting in complicity over bids to build business complexes, homes for the aged and sewage treatment plants since 1995, public prosecutors said.

The gang were accused of illegally interfering in local village elections and the requisition of land.

In March 2011, Huang and his gang allegedly used force to help local villager Zhu Moujia be elected as head of the Wushi village in Conghua's Wenquan township after Zhu offered a bribe of 400,000 yuan ($63,700) to Huang's gang.

At the beginning of this year, Huang and his gang fought with more than 100 villagers over compensation for requisitioning land in Wushi village.

The incident came to an end after police arrived at the scene to investigate the case.

The court has not ruled yet.