A god father-like businessman who used an armored vehicle to bully others was sentenced to life in jail for organized crimes and illegal gun possession on Wednesday in Tangshan, Hebei province.

Yang Shukuan's company, Huayun, was also fined 30 million yuan ($4.3 million) by the Zhangjiakou intermediate people's court for failing to honor business contracts.

Yang, chairman of the Tangshan company, was convicted of organizing mafia-like groups, owning guns without proper licenses and contract fraud.

Previously, he had been portrayed on the Internet as a gun-toting gangster boss who had attacked others in an armored car and who owned assets worth more than 100 million yuan.

The prosecutor said Yang and other gang members had dominated the area in which they live, bullying locals and perpetrating crimes and causing untold damage to local economic and social activity, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

Yang, reported to "have a crush on guns ever since he was a little boy", began collecting firearms after he grew rich as head of Huayun Company.

Police found 31 guns and more than 300 bullets in his possession when they arrested him.

Yang and his group were involved in several gang fights and inflicted injuries on at least two people.

He and his company were found guilty of making up facts and cheating a total of 61.3 million yuan from Zhongli Company from 2005 to 2006.

Another of the accused, Yang's friend Zhang Lisheng, worked in a car repair shop, where Tangshan's public security bureau stored some of its guns.

"As the bureau's gun storeroom is small, the police put many guns in my shop," Zhang said.

Yang urged Zhang to lend him some guns to "play" with, to which Zhang agreed after seeking permission from Dai Yunlong, an officer of the bureau in charge of the storeroom.

But more than just playing, Yang used the guns to threaten others.

"On January 15, Yang led some others, all with guns, into a hospital to threaten a patient called Jiang Yongli. Yang fired twice there", CCTV reported.

Luxury cars were also found to be a weakness of Yang's, with his 7 million yuan Rolls Royce, two Ferraris and 20 other cars belonging to his wife thought to be purchased with illegally gained funds.

"There was a time he ordered that no car less luxurious than a Toyota should enter his company", the news website sina.com reported.

With his arrest, police also found 17 related cars, including the four "armored vehicles", which according to the police were jeeps and military cars refitted as attack vehicles.

The public security office of Hebei province started to investigate Huayun in 2006 and arrested Yang for contract fraud in March last year.

Yang and 43 others were first brought before the court on Jan 21.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/30/2008 page6)