China Court Sentences Two to Death

 BEIJING - Two Chinese men convicted of embezzlement have been sentenced to death for financial scams involving $60 million, the official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday.

 The penalties imposed Friday by a Beijing court add to a mounting number of death sentences handed out for nonviolent crimes in China's ``Strike Hard'' anti-crime crusade.

 Lu Feng and Cheng Jing were convicted of stealing from investors who deposited $19.7 million into bank accounts the pair controlled, Xinhua reported. It said they had help from bank employees.

 It said punishments imposed on 11 accomplices by the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing ranged from two years in prison to suspended death sentences.

 The report said other cases against Lu and Cheng raised the total amount of money involved to $60 million, but it did not provide any details.

 China has reported hundreds of executions this year in its anti-crime campaign. Enforcement was stepped up after bombings in the central city of Shijiazhuang blamed on a man with a grudge killed 108 people in March.

 In addition to convicted killers and rapists, those put to death have included people convicted of being pimps, tax evaders, drug dealers and corrupt officials.