China jails gang leader in Tibet for 18 years

BEIJING, Sep 4 (Reuters) China has jailed the head of a 12-member crime gang in Tibet for 18 years, state media reported today, as bars, massage parlours and karaoke lounges proliferate in burgeoning tourist areas of the Himalayan region.

Long Desheng, 40, from China's neighbouring southwestern province of Sichuan, had colluded with 11 others and committed violent crimes since 2002 in Tibet, Xinhua news agency said, citing a local court.

Long instructed gang members to ''stir up trouble'' and ''start fights'' in public places and carry out extortion around Nyingchi, a prefecture popular with tourists in eastern Tibet, it said.

The ring also ran gambling operations at local hotels, bars and took cuts of the profits, the court was quoted as saying.

''The crime ring led by Long caused a host of troubles and has seriously disturbed social and economic order in Nyingchi, exerting a very bad impact on society,'' an official from a crime control office in Tibet was quoted as saying.

An increasing numbers of Chinese, many from Sichuan, have set up business in Buddhist Tibet with bars, hotels, karaoke lounges and massage parlours, many providing prostitution and gambling services.

Two other key members of the ring, Li Shimin and Zhou Shuanglin, were jailed for 15 and eight years respectively, while other members were imprisoned for three to five years, the agency said.

Maintaining social stability is a key concern for the ruling Communist party, particularly in ethnic minority regions such as Tibet, from where its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Local police had destroyed eight mafia-styled organisations and six other criminal operations in Tibet last year, detaining 142 suspects and dealing with 711 criminal cases, it said, citing the local authorities.

REUTERS PD PM1511