More than 30 people have been sentenced to imprisonment in recent weeks by courts here for destroying power lines and disrupting telecommunication facilities.
Yesterday, two more were convicted of sabotaging electric power facilities and of theft, and sentenced to imprisonment by the Shanghai High People's Court.
Luo Jun was jailed for seven years for stealing copper wire and cables worth 44,800 yuan ($5,900).
From August last year to May this year, Luo and three accomplices, stole cables and copper wire from several places in Nanhui and Pudong districts.
Xin Zuoqin, who bought the goods from the gang, knowing they had been stolen, was sentenced to 10 months in jail and fined 1,000 yuan.
Zhao Xuming, a chief judge at the Shanghai High People's Court, said crimes of this nature had cost serious economic loss.
"About a year ago, a power line cut near Shanghai South Railway Station resulted in a total blackout of the city, and no telecommunications," Zhao said.
Last November, after a village in Minhang District suffered a power blackout, a man was found dead hanging from a high-tension power line. He was electrocuted while trying to steal copper wire.
Zhao said criminal cases of this nature had been on the increase in recent years and blamed recycling businesses in nearby cities for buying stolen copper wire.
"They buy copper wire from thieves, at 60 to 80 yuan per kilo, and sell it at a much higher price," he said.
Zhao said courts in Shanghai will continue to crackdown on these crimes.
"Our focus will be on those who engage in such crimes and those who buy the illegal goods."
According to the State Supreme Court, the death sentence will now apply to cases involving damage to power facilities that could result in a fatal accident, blackouts that affect more than 10,000 residents for at least 6 hours, and those causing an economic loss of more than 1 million yuan.
(China Daily 09/26/2007 page 3)
Questions:
1. Luo Jun was convicted to how many years in prison?
2. Mr Zhao Xuming blames what type of business for the increase in copper wire thefts?
3. How many people have been imprisoned for copper wire theft in the last few weeks?
Answers:
1. Seven.
2. Recycling businesses in nearby cities.
3. More than 30.
（英語點津 Linda 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
