China executes mining billionaire, others convicted of murder

Officials in China said that a former mining tycoon and four others were executed on Monday for murder.

Reuters reported that authorities executed billionaire Liu Han, who had ties to the oldest son of ex-domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang.

Zhou, a retired politician of the Communist Party, is now the focal point of
a major corruption probe.

The AFP noted that last May, Liu, his brother and three others, were tried and convicted of murder and running what local media outlets call a “mafia-style gang.” The men did not win on appeals and were all sentenced to death.

The court said that the convicted spent their final moments with their families.

“The executed criminals’ legal rights were fully protected,” the court added.

Liu was once ranked the 230th richest man in China. His execution is an example of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on party corruption, which has created a power struggle. The party also went after some of Zhou's protégées, most notably regulator of state-owned enterprises, Jiang Jiemin.