Kin murder suspects face death penalty

BEIJING - A group of farmers are facing the death penalty after being accused of murdering three people and then burying the evidence in fake mine accidents.

In a case eerily similar to the plot of the award-winning Chinese movie Blind Shaft, the four suspects are accused of murdering their victims and blaming the deaths on mine accidents to extort money from mine owners.

Huang Yucai, 52, and his 41-year-old nephew, Huang Xianzhong, appeared alongside co-defendants Shi Xuesong and Zhang Xihua at Beijing's No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday. The trial was adjourned for further investigation.