Articlebbc.co.uk: 50137450 said:Scared of losing money fighting a lengthy court case, Tan contacted hitman Xi Guangan and offered him ¥2m to kill Mr Wei.
Xi accepted the job but shortly afterwards asked another hitman, Mo Tianxiang, to kill Mr Wei instead, offering him ¥1m. After Mo accepted, Xi renegotiated with Tan to be paid another ¥1m after the killing.
But Mo in turn contacted another man, Yang Kangsheng, who agreed to carry out the killing for an upfront fee of ¥270,000, with another ¥500,000 to be paid afterwards.
Yang Kangsheng then offered another hitman, Yang Guangsheng, ¥200,000 to assassinate Mr Wei, also with a bonus of ¥500,000 after completion.
Finally, the chain came to an end when Yang Guangsheng offered a fifth hitman, Ling Xiansi, ¥100,000 to kill Mr Wei.
Instead of carrying out the murder, Ling met up with Mr Wei in a cafe, told him there was a hit on him and proposed a plan - that the two of them fake the murder.
Mr Wei agreed to pose, gagged and bound, for a photo that Ling could take back to Yang Guangsheng - before later reporting the case to the police.
What a palaver
It looks like their sentences related to their distance from the initial contract (?)
bbc.co.uk: 50137450 said:Tan, who hired the original hitman, was sentenced to five years in prison, while Xi, the first hitman, was sentenced to three years and six months.
Yang Kangsheng and Yang Guangsheng were sentenced to three years and three months, Mo was sentenced to three years, and Ling was sentenced to two years and seven months.
You can barely imagine this scenario occurring in a comedy film, let alone real life. I thought most hit-men were undercover FBI anyway? China not on the same wavelength?