Gang of Deaf Thieves Jailed [View All]

[matcom]

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have broken up a gang of deaf teenaged robbers who carried out a string of thefts on the orders of a brutal leader.

Leader Yang Song and 11 gang members were sent to prison for term ranging from 11 months to 13 years, Xinhua news agency said Monday.

Yang, 34, formed the gang in 2001 in Shaoxing, in the affluent southeastern coastal province of Zhejiang. Most of the members, who robbed scores of shops, were jobless and homeless youngsters.

Yang regularly beat members of his gang, or burned them with cigarettes. He even made them do headstands for up to three hours, Xinhua said.

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