Four years in prison after robbing boys of 10c

BEIJING - A Chinese man has been jailed for four years for robbing two 12-year-old boys of the equivalent of 10c, after a court decided his "outrageous" crime deserved a harsh penalty, the Beijing News said.

Li Fushou, 20, robbed the pupils last March as they left their primary school in Huadu, a suburb of Guangzhou. "He dragged them into an alley and demanded 20 yuan as a fee to join a gang, threatening to beat them with a bicycle lock if they did not comply," the paper said.

Li, who was convicted of robbery and also fined 1000 yuan, found 0.5 yuan after searching them.

- REUTERS