42 rioters sentenced to prison

LHASA: Forty-two people involved in the March 14 riots here have been sentenced to jail, while 116 others remain in detention, a senior regional official said on Friday.

The 42 were convicted of various crimes in the local court including arson, theft, creating a disturbance, assembling to assault State organs and preventing State personnel from carrying out their duties, Baema Chilain, vice-chairman of the Tibet autonomous region, said.

Eighteen civilians and one police officer died in the riots, while 382 civilians and 241 police officers were injured. The cost of the damage to property was more than 280 million yuan ($40 million).