SMH reports a woman called the "godmother" of a mafia-style gang in China's southern city of Chongqing has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for running underground casinos and bribing government officials.

The trial of Xie Caiping is part of a months-long crackdown in the city that has exposed widespread government and police involvement in providing cover to numerous local gangs, or "black societies".

It has also riveted China's state-controlled media with tales of a violent underworld.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gang-godmother-who-kept-16-lovers-jailed-for-18-years-20091104-hvlb.html