HEFEI - A court in eastern China's Anhui province on Wednesday gave a mafia-style ringleader a 20-year prison term for monopolizing the loading and unloading market in Anhui and Henan provinces.

The People's Court of Qiaocheng district, in the city of Bozhou, issued a 20-year sentence to Wang Shundang, the leader of a gang, who was found guilty of organizing racketeering schemes among his gang's members, setting up gambling houses, imposing protection fees on people, and intentionally injuring 15 people in Anhui and Henan provinces from June 1998 to August 2010.

With the assistance of over 20 gang members, Wang forced workers in a local herbal medicine loading and unloading center in Bozhou to hand over 30 percent of their daily salaries every day, according to the verdict.

Wang was also fined 2 million yuan ($310,000).

Another 22 gang members received prison terms ranging from six months to 15 years.