A group of hitmen have been jailed after repeatedly trying to subcontract a job to each other in Guangxi, China. Businessman Tan Youhui hired a hitman to "take out" his competitor for $282,000 (£218,000), a court heard. But the hitman hired another man to do the job, offering $141,000. That man hired another hitman, who hired another hitman, who hired another hitman.
The plan crumbled when the final hitman met the man he was hired to kill. Instead of carrying out the murder, Ling met up with Mr Wei in a cafe, told him there was a hit on him and proposed a plan - that the two of them fake the murder. Mr Wei agreed to pose, gagged and bound, for a photo that Ling could take back to Yang Guangsheng - before later reporting the case to the police.
All six men - the five hitmen and Tan - were convicted of attempted murder by the court in Nanning, Guangxi, following a trial that lasted three years.