The prime suspect in the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year, Naw Kham, denied plotting the attack on Thursday. Nam Kham and five other suspects went on trial at the International People's Court of Kunming, capital of south China's Yunnan Province, facing charges of international homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking.

The alleged head of a Myanmar drug gang, Nan Kham claimed that he neither planned nor commanded the attack in October 2011. But the other suspects confessed in court and expressed their regret for the crimes.

In a media interview before the trial Nam Kham confessed to the murders but he recanted this in court, saying he was not aware of the attack as he had not been informed by other alleged members of the gang. But he did say that he was the gang's leader, saying every member called him "the boss."

(CNTV.cn September 21, 2012)