Tehran: Iran today hanged in public in the central city of Arak a former police official found guilty of murder and executed another murder convict in prison, the Farsnews agency reported.

Former police official Abolfazl R was hanged at the scene of his crime for stabbing a man to death and raping his fiancee in the mountains outside Arak in December 2005,the report said.

"He had approached the couple as a police official, showed a fake ID... Tied up the victim and killed him by stabbing and striking his head with a rock," it said.

The second man, identified as Abolfazl M, was hanged in a prison in Arak for murdering two people.

Meanwhile, Iran amputated the right hand and left foot of five criminals convicted of armed robbery and hostage-taking, the student ISNA news agency reported today.

The amputation, a legally permissible but rarely used punishment in Iran, was carried out in the presence of doctors in the southeastern city of Zahedan, capital of the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The men, identified as M A Jalali, A B Righi, A Righi, A R Roudini and D Pahlevan, were found guilty of "acting against God" and "corruption upon this Earth" for taking part in the robberies and taking hostages.

The report did not said whether the punishment was carried out in prison or in public. Iran has hanged 16 convicts so far in 2008,according to the local media. At least 298 people were executed last year according to an AFP count compiled from local press reports.

Source : PTI