A young man was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension Saturday for killing a fellow salesman who had recruited him to a pyramid sales network.

Ding Qikui, 21, who had spent a large sum of money to join the network but failed to make money as a salesman, thought he had been cheated by his recruiter and killed him, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court said in handing down the sentence. 

 Ding was among 12 people, most of them in their 20s, sentenced by the court Saturday for crimes related to pyramid sales.

In a separate case, Liu Weizi, 19, Yi Xichun, 23, and Song Junyi, 21, were sentenced over the death of a defector who wanted to leave a pyramid sales group. The three confined the victim in a room for fear he would leave the group. The victim fell to his death when he tried to escape by climbing out of a window.

Authorities also announced the arrests of 15 other people suspected of pyramid sales-related crimes.

Authorities disclosed that three people had died and nine others injured in Panyu District so far this year in 15 violent cases resulting from disputes over pyramid sales.

Guangzhou authorities had this year disbanded 941 pyramid sales groups involving 31,674 people, officials said.

Vice Mayor Wang Xiaoling said pyramid sales, a marketing scheme outlawed six years ago for its susceptibility to fraud, was still escalating in the city. The official said the government would take tougher measures to deal with its resurgence.

Wang vowed speedy prosecutions and trials for pyramid sales organizations that operate like the mafia and to handle violent cases in connection with the illegal trade.

Editor : Nit