China executes Internet cafe child killer

BEIJING, December 31 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - A 33-year-old man who raped and murdered six children he lured off the street or from an Internet cafe was executed on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said.

Gong Runbo had been convicted at a court in Jiamusi in northeastern Heilongjiang province which heard he committed the offences against the children, aged between nine and 16, from March 2005 to February 2006.

Gong was sentenced to death on July 13 and was ordered to pay 661,840 yuan ($84,780) to the victims' families, Xinhua said.

From Monday, the Supreme People's Court will reassume authority over the approval of death penalties for the first time since it was devolved to provincial higher courts during a crackdown on crime in the early 1980s.

bdnews24.com/mi/1753 hrs.