3 jailed for coerced begging rackets

SHENZHEN: Two people have been sentenced to two years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan each for coercing children to beg in the first successfully prosecuted case involving such practices, a local court ruled Tuesday.

The court had heard evidence that Wang Qingcheng, 58, and Gong Jilan, 54, had rented two disabled children in May 2002 and coerced them to beg in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

They couple earned more than 10,000 yuan a year from the begging racket.