Qingdao gang boss executed

The head of a mafia-style gang in Qingdao, Shandong province, was executed on Tuesday.

Nie Lei, 46, who was sentenced to death by Qingdao Intermediate People's Court in March 2012, was executed on Tuesday morning, Qilu Evening News reported on its micro blog.

Nie was convicted on several counts, including intentionally injuring others and running a mafia-style gang that operated underground casinos, organized prostitution and illegally possessed guns in Qingdao from 1995.

Nie appealed after receiving the death sentence, but the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court upheld the sentence on Aug 20, 2012.