The leader of a 10-member gang who abducted and trafficked in 38 children was executed in south China's Guangdong Province on Thursday.

According to the investigation by the Dongguan City Intermediate People's Court, Liu Jianqiu, 44, abducted 38 children, all boys, from March 2001 to May 2004, together with nine others.

The gang members usually coaxed the children playing outside with snacks and then abducted them. They then sold the boys, ranging in ages from four to seven years, for 13,000 yuan (1,857 US dollars) each.

The court said 12 of the 38 abducted boys had not been found.

Liu's personal property was also confiscated.

The other nine gang members were given jail terms ranging from six years to suspended death sentences.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2008)