Scammers still up to their tricks despite local efforts to stop them

THE RINGLEADER BEHIND A TELEPHONE SCAM in Linyi, Shandong province, in which the young victim died of cardiac arrest last August, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Linyi Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday. The other six defendants received prison terms ranging from 3 to 15 years. People's Daily comments:

The heavy penalties demonstrate the firm resolve of the judicial authorities to punish those involved in telephone scams.

Xu Yuyu, a high school graduate in Linyi, died of cardiac arrest on Aug 21 last year after she was tricked into remitting 9,000 yuan ($1,331) to an account set up by the fraudsters.