Chinese official executed for gambling

Reports from China say an official in the central Hubei province has been executed for gambling millions of dollars of public funds.

The official news agency Xinhua said the official, Jin Jianpei, a former director of the provincial government offices in Hong Kong and Macau, was convicted for embezzling more than $2m.

Officials say Mr Jin gambled the money in the former Portuguese colony of Macau. Gambling is officially illegal in mainland China but is allowed in Macau.

Macau was returned to China in December 1999.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service