Court upholds sentences of Mekong killers  

湄公河惨案二审维持原判 主犯糯康数罪并罚判死刑

湄公河“10•5”中国船员遇害案今日二审宣判，云南省高级人民法院作出终审裁定，驳回上诉、维持原判。主犯糯康、桑康、依莱、扎西卡4人数罪并罚判处死刑，另两名被告人扎波、扎拖波分别被判处死缓和有期徒刑8年。

(Ecns.cn) -- The Higher People's Court of Yunnan Province on Wednesday rejected appeals by six people accused of taking part in a deadly attack last year on the Mekong River.

Four criminals, including ringleader Naw Kham, were sentenced to death on November 6 by the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming. One other received the death penalty with a two-year reprieve, while another was sentenced to eight years in prison.

After lodging an appeal, the six stood second-instance trial last Thursday, withdrawing their earlier guilty pleas and denying plotting the murders. In view of the significance of the case, the chief judge did not pronounce the sentence that day.

Naw Kham's gang was found to have planned and colluded with Thai soldiers in an attack on the two Chinese cargo ships "Hua Ping" and "Yu Xing 8" on October 5, 2011. Under Naw Kham's instructions, his subordinates hijacked the ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors, according to the court.