BEIJING - A COURT in southwest China sentenced six people to death on Wednesday in trials that have lifted the lid on the murky underworld in Chongqing, with sordid tales of sex, gambling and corruption.

The court in Chongqing, one of China's largest cities, sentenced to death ring leader Yang Tianqing, 35, and five other defendants for murder, assault, extortion and other charges linked to organised crime, it said on its website.

Three of those sentenced were given two-year reprieves, meaning their sentences were likely to be commuted to life in prison after two years dependent on their behaviour in prison, the court statement said.

'Yang Tianqing and others... several times committed the crimes of pre-meditated murder, assault with the intention to injure, coercive business practices, extortion and other crimes,' the court said. 'This organisation illegally controlled the Yubei district ... carried out illegal criminal activities against land and construction developers and coerced ordinary people. Their influence has been odious.'

More than 1,500 suspects linked to organised crime groups have been arrested in the Chongqing crackdown, in which 14 top judicial and police officials have been implicated, according to a top party official, Liu Guanglei.

Wen Qiang, who became Chongqing's top judicial official last year after 16 years on the police force, stands accused of protecting an intricate web of businessmen, officials and mobsters in the city of over 30 million people. According to state media, Wen has been charged with shielding businesses in numerous sectors such as real estate, transportation, gambling and prostitution as well as an illegal loan racket worth 30 billion yuan (S$6.1 billion) last year. -- AFP