After binding and gagging the 23 crew members, the pirates shot them and weighted down their bodies before dumping them overboard. The ship and its cargo of iron ore disappeared. Then last December Chinese police arrested 38 pirates after discovering photographs of the pirates celebrating aboard the Cheung Son . In January, a court found six of the pirates not guilty, and sentenced 13 to death, one to life in prison, and the remainder received sentences of one to twelve years. Four days later, the 13 were executed.
Execution is the time-honored means of dealing with pirates.
After Captain William Kidd was hanged, his body was tarred and placed in an iron cage and put on display as a warning to others. Edward Teach 's severed head was hung from the bowsprit while his body was thrown overboard. Punishment, however, was and is a rarity for pirates. More often than not they escape with their plunder. Pirates of yore and modern pirates share other similarities.