Naw Kham (1st R, front), principal suspect accused in the Mekong River murder case, and five accomplices hear their verdicts at court in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 6, 2012. Naw Kham was sentenced to death on Nov. 6. The 13 Chinese sailors were murdered after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River, an important waterway in Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
Naw Kham (C, front), principal suspect accused in the Mekong River murder case, is escorted to the court to hear the verdicts for him and five accomplices in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 6, 2012. Naw Kham was sentenced to death on Nov. 6. The 13 Chinese sailors were murdered after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River, an important waterway in Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced drug lord Naw Kham and three of his subordinates to death for the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year.
Another two members of Naw Kham's gang, identified by their Chinese names Zha Bo and Zha Tuobo, received a death sentence with reprieve and eight years in prison, respectively, according to a verdict handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan province.
All six suspects were charged with intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and ship hijacking.
All six defendants said at the court they would appeal Tuesday's verdict.
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