A migrant Chinese worker who stabbed a taxi driver, stole his cab and mowed down two shoppers in an upmarket area has been sentenced to death, the official Xinhua agency said on Tuesday.

Ai Xuqiang, a 32-year old former farmer from China's central Henan province, stands for trail over the charges of murder and theft on May 30, 2006. He has been sentenced to death. [stardaily.com.cn]

Ai Xuqiang, a 32-year old former farmer from China's central Henan province, injured seven other pedestrians as he raced down Wangfujing street, near some of the capital's glitziest malls, on September 11 last year.

He pleaded guilty to the murders and theft, saying his circumstances led him to bear a grudge against rich people, and was also ordered to pay over 1 million yuan ($124,600) compensation, Xinhua reported.

It did not say how he would pay the huge sum, equivalent to well over a hundred years work at the current minimum wage.

Ai worked as a fork-lift truck driver after divorcing his wife and moving to Beijing in 2000 -- part of a rising tide of rural poor flocking to cities in the hope of seeking better life.

They face problems ranging from unpaid wages and lack of medical care to widespread discrimination.