Carrying the nickname of the "godmother" of the Chinese underworld, Xie Caiping, 46, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for running illegal casinos and bribing government officials. She was well noted for her toughness as well as a lavish lifestyle that included lusury villas and a stable of 16 young lovers.
Her trial was one of a series of gang prosecutions in the southwestern city of Chongqing that have featured lurid testimony about sex, corruption and the violent underworld.
Xie is the only female gang boss to be tried as part of a monthslong crackdown on local gangs, known as "black societies," in the sprawling southwestern megacity of 30 million. The trials have exposed the tangled web of links between government officials and police officers who sought to provide cover for the crime syndicates.
Besides her luxury homes, Xie reportedly enjoyed her own Mercedes-Benz and "retained 16 young men for personal entertainment," local media reported. On Tuesday, her driver Luo Xuan, 29, who was also her lover, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for his role.
