Principal suspect Naw Kham sentenced to death

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Verdicts for the six men accused in the Mekong River murder case have been annouced by the Intermediate People’s Court of Kunming in the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Naw Kham, head of an armed drug gang from Myanmar, has been given the death penalty.

Meanwhile, four members of his gang have been sentenced to death or death with reprieve. One was given an 8 year jail sentence. They were sentenced for the October 2011 murder of 13 Chinese sailors in the Thai waters of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle Region.

All six suspects were charged with intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking. But all six defendants say they will appeal to a higher court.

The Naw Kham crime ring was busted earlier this year in a joint operation by police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand after the brutal murders triggered an outcry in China.

Naw Kham (1st R, front), principal suspect accused in the Mekong River murder case, and five accomplices hear their verdicts at court in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 6, 2012. Naw Kham was sentenced to death on Nov. 6. The 13 Chinese sailors were murdered after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River, an important waterway in Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

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Naw Kham (1st R, front), principal suspect accused in the Mekong River murder case, and five accomplices hear their verdicts at court in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 6, 2012. Naw Kham was sentenced to death on Nov. 6. The 13 Chinese sailors were murdered after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River, an important waterway in Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)