A court in southwest China Friday upheld the death sentence for a gunman and army deserter who was convicted of murder and armed robbery.

The Sichuan Provincial Higher People's Court ruled that Wu Yong was convicted of killing a fellow serviceman and also being an army deserter in 2000, as well as killing a boy in 2002.

Wu killed 12-year-old Luo Zhongyong so that Wu's accomplice, Tang Zhengfang, could drink the boy's blood as a means of treating a disease Tang had contracted, according to court records.

Further, Wu shot and seriously wounded a guard at a military building in Yibin City of Sichuan in September 2003, the ruling said.

He also attempted to attack a government guard outside a municipal government building in October 2003, but his gun misfired and the guard survived, said court officials.

Wu and his accomplices robbed a medical company's wholesale store and two toll stations on the Yibin-Neijiang Expressway using a shotgun and knives in 2001, 2008 and 2009. The criminals stole about 126,000 yuan (US$19,117) in cash during their crime spree.

All of Wu's personal property has been confiscated, according to the court.

Wu, a Yibin native, joined the army in Handan City, Hebei Province, in December 1999 and was reported absent without leave some months later.

Six of Wu's accomplices, including Zhang Zishun and Tang Zhengfang, received sentences of three years to life imprisonment.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2011)