Li Guanghui, former Party secretary of the city of Enping in south China's Guangdong Province, was sentenced to four years in prison for neglect of duty involving serious financial risk.

According to local sources, the trial took place on November 17 in the Intermediate People's Court of Jiangmen City which exercises jurisdiction over Enping, a county-level city.

In the court's ruling, Li was found guilty of disregarding the national laws of China and failing to do his duty according to law when he acted as a leader of Enping, violating the law by interfering in financial activities which eventually led to heavy losses suffered by the state. He is sentenced as one of the main persons responsible for the major financial breakdown in Enping.

Investigations showed that from August 1994 to August 1996 while Li was Party secretary of Enping, financial institutions in the city were encouraged to use high interest rates to lure 11.2 billion yuan in savings deposits, while lending out over 6.3 billion yuan in loans in violation of relevant laws and regulations.

By late 1996, overdue loans climbed to 4.6 billion yuan, and 1. 2 billion yuan in interest which should have been recovered, was not. In the end, more than five billion yuan was taken from elsewhere to ensure payment in Enping, causing the state to lose 500 million yuan.