A local court on Saturday gave Wang Zheng, the former deputy
head of Yuzhong District of southwest China's vast Chongqing
Municipality, a death sentence with a two-year suspension for
having accepted bribes.
The No. 5 Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing also deprived
Wang of his political rights and confiscated his personal
assets.
The court found that Wang had accepted bribes in various forms
that totaled about 9.66 million yuan (1.32 million U.S. dollars),
when he was in charge of the planning department of Shangpingba
District and served as deputy head of Yuzhong District from 1999 to
June 2007.
The court said the bribes came from real estate developers who
intended to gain favors in land acquisitions and construction
project contractors.
Wang was given a suspended death sentence because he showed
remorse and admitted his crimes, according to the court.
The court also handed down rulings on Saturday involving Zheng
Wei, the former head of the Yuzhong District Commission of
Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, and Chen
Ming, the former deputy head of Shapingba District.
Zheng and Chen were given 13- and 10-year jail terms,
respectively. Both accepted bribes from land developers at
different times, the court said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2007)