Zheng, 63, was sentenced to death on May 29 by the Beijing
Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court after being found
guilty of taking 6.49 million yuan (US$850,000) in bribes and
dereliction of duty.
Zheng appealed for leniency in a second hearing of his case on
June 12, pleading that the penalty was "too severe" and asking the
court to reconsider the sentence. He also gave evidence that
implicated other officials in the case.
The Higher People's Court of Beijing rejected Zheng's appeal on
June 22 and upheld the death sentence.
"The evidence provided by Zheng was obtained by the prosecution
team before his confession," said the court, which then asked for a
review and the approval of the Supreme People's Court (SPC).
The SPC ratified the death sentence against Zheng saying, "The
judgement made by the first and second hearings was authentic, the
evidence was complete and the death sentence was appropriate."
"Zheng's dereliction of duty has undermined the efficiency of
China's drug monitoring and supervision, endangered public life and
health and has had a very negative social impact," said the
SPC.
The bribes taken by Zheng, including cash and gifts, were
received either directly or through his wife and son, according to
the court.
The court said Zheng "sought benefits" for eight pharmaceutical
companies by approving their drugs and medical devices during his
tenure as China's chief drug and food official from June 1997 to
December 2006.
Zheng violated reporting rules and decision-making processes
when approving medicines between 2001 and 2003. He failed to make
careful arrangements for the supervision of medicine production,
which is of critical importance to people's lives, said the
court.
The consequences of Zheng's dereliction of duty have proved
extremely serious. Six types of medicine approved by the
administration during that period were fake. Some pharmaceutical
companies used false documents to apply for approvals, the court
said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2007)