Tan paid Xi Guangan around $282,800 for the job. Xi then took the money, and used half to hire another hitman, Mo Tianxiang, to do the job, a release from Nanning Intermediate People’s Court said.

In April 2014, Xi asked Tan for another $141,000 — which would be paid after the job, the court said in a release. Around the same time, Mo subcontracted another hitman, Yang Kangsheng — paying him around $38,000 upfront and promising around $71,000 when the murder was completed. The court added that Mo gave Yang a phone with the rival developer’s photo, a note with his license plate number and a printed photo of him.

Yang then offered the job to a fourth man, Yang Guangsheng, with a similar up-front payment of around $28,000 and another $71,000 when the job was done, the court said.