Four days before the event, local residents were invited to attend the sentencing in an official notice circulated on social media. China maintains the death penalty for a host of non-violent offences, such as drug trafficking and economic crimes. The most recent public sentencing and subsequent executions were not a first for Lufeng. Eight people were sentenced to death for drug crimes and summarily executed five months ago in a similar public trial, according to state media. A crowd of 7,000 watched as 55 suspects were sentenced in 2014, where at least one person was sentenced to death.

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2017 04:30 UTC