China executes seven smugglers

Beijing - China executed seven people yesterday for their role in a multi-billion dollar smuggling scandal, the first of a big…

Beijing - China executed seven people yesterday for their role in a multi-billion dollar smuggling scandal, the first of a big "haul" of executions state media have promised in the biggest corruption case of the Communist era.

China's Supreme Court approved the executions of the seven, including a customs officer and a bank official in Xiamen - the eastern port at the centre of the scandal - after their appeals were turned down, the official Xinhua news agency said.