During a crackdown on organised crime, Zeng Jianbin, a real estate developer in Mianyang, in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for being a “gang leader”. In 2023, the Mianyang Intermediate People’s Court convicted Zeng of nine offences, including provoking trouble, illegal lending at high interest and intentional destruction of property. His sentence was particularly harsh because of the organised crime accusations. But two years later, during his...