Mekong murderers' execution just: authorities(2)

"Naw Kham has learned that he will be executed. We have arranged translators to accompany and chat with him, plus psychological counseling," said Yang Xiaoping, a judge of the case from the KIPC.

"Naw Kham's current situation is relatively stable and nothing special is happening," said Yang.

According to the KIPC judge, after Naw Kham was informed of the verdict, he maintained that he had paid compensation and confessed, so hoped that the Chinese government can be lenient.

After the judge explained to him that execution is the final verdict, he said that he has 10 children and hoped to meet them though he cannot remember their phone numbers, Yang said.

"We have informed the consulate of Naw Kham's hope and not received any applications to meet him so far," he added.

The court already arranged for officials from the Royal Thai Consulate General in Kunming, as well as some of the convicts' relatives, to meet with the convicts on Thursday morning.

The meeting was in accordance with Chinese law, a note from the Thai consulate and applications from convicts' relatives, according to the KIPC.

After the execution, the court will hand over their remains, wills and personal belongings to their relatives or relevant consulates.

"Given the current situation, since the downfall of Naw Kham's gang, the security of Mekong waters has been fine," noted Wu Ruzhen, liaison officer to Myanmar from China's Ministry of Public Security.

Naw Kham and his gang members were found to have masterminded and colluded with Thai soldiers in an attack on two Chinese cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River.

Under Naw Kham's instructions, several of his subordinates were also found to have kidnapped Chinese sailors and hijacked cargo ships in exchange for ransom in early April 2011.

The gang was broken up in early 2012 in a joint operation by police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand after the brutal murders of Chinese sailors triggered calls to rein in rampant crime in the border region.

Naw Kham and the other three convicts were given death penalties on Nov. 6, 2012.

Another two members of Naw Kham's gang, identified as Zha Bo and Zha Tuobo, received a death sentence with reprieve and eight years in prison, respectively.

Nicknamed "the Godfather," Naw Kham was the boss of the largest armed drug trafficking gang on the Mekong River, which flows through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.