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4 get death penalty
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A COURT on Wednesday sentenced to death a convicted rapist for a bombing spree which killed 108 people in Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei Province.
The partially deaf Jin Ruchao, 41, who, according to the court, acted single-handedly in bringing about the massacre out of a narrow-minded desire for revenge, was sentenced with three others.
Jin managed to set off explosions in four different locations in the early hours of March 16, not only killing scores, but also injuring 38 people.
The three other people who were tried alongside Jin — Wang Yushun, Hao Fengqin and Hu Xiaohong — were convicted for providing him with materials that enabled him to make the bombs.
On Wednesday, the same day when the four convicts were sentenced to death at the first instance trial over one of the deadliest blasts in recent Chinese history, China announced the launch of a nationwide crackdown on the illegal possession of explosives and guns.
The campaign, which covers the entire country, will target people who illegally own or deal in explosives and firearms.
“No unit, organization or individual should be involved in the illegal production, sale, storage or trafficking of any kind of explosive or firearm," said an announcement from the public security ministry.
The ministry said offenders who turn themselves in within the first month of the campaign may receive amnesty, while those apprehended afterwards will suffer “serious punishment."(SD-Agencies)
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