Seven taxi drivers were 'force-fed bleach' by teenaged gang in Dominican Republic

Five teenagers in the Dominican Republic have been found guilty of killing seven taxi drivers and seriously injuring two others by forcing most of them to drink bleach.

The teenagers, who ranged in age from 15 to 17 and included two girls, were sentenced to three to five years in prison.

Victims' relatives had demanded the five be treated as adults.

If they had been arraigned as adults they would have served up to 30 years in prison, the maximum penalty allowed for killing someone in the Dominican Republic. Police said the teens used guns to assault the drivers in April and steal money from them. Two of the drivers were shot dead and the others were forced to drink bleach.

Authorities said the teens also doused the bodies with the chemical to prevent them from being identified.

The sentencing on Thursday came a day after the government banned the commercial sale of certain types of bleach because police have reported they are increasingly being used in assaults.

In late August, an eight-month-old baby and a 19-year-old mother died after her partner doused them with bleach.