43 on trial over fatal mine explosion in SW China

Forty three people went on trial Tuesday in southwest China's Yunnan province on charges including organized crime, blackmail, and illegal mining and grabs of farmland. The gang was involved in a fatal coal-mine dispute late last year in which nine of its members were killed and 19 more injured. On Nov. 18, 2010, over 100 people headed by ringleader Zheng Chunyun arrived at a coal mine in Luxi county of Honghe prefecture wielding steel pipes and knives to "settle a dispute." But they were ambushed by their opponents, headed by Wang Jianfu, who set off explosives and opened fire with guns. Wang, contractor of the Xiaosongdi Coal Mine, had a dispute over mining resources with Zheng, the owner of a neighboring mine. Zheng was charged with running a mafia-style gang since 2000, the intermediate people's court in Honghe prefecture said in a statement. Zheng and 42 others were charged with organized crime, intentional injury, robbery, blackmail, operating gambling houses, forced dealings and illegal seizures of farmland. The trial is scheduled to last seven days. Wang and 25 members of his side stood trial last week and the verdict is also to be announced later.