Corrupt Customs Official Sentenced to DeathA former customs official in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to death recently for taking bribes worth 1.8 million yuan (about 216,867 US dollars). The Hangzhou Intermediate Court handed down the death sentence with a two-year reprieve.Geng Yongxiang, 53, accepted bribes in RMB yuan and US dollars as well as in the form of gifts such as jewelry when he acted as director of the Suzhou Customs and later Hangzhou Customs from 1992 to 1999. Geng even asked customs officials on Zhoushan Island in east China to turn a blind eye to oil smuggling in 1998 and 1999, in return for which he pocketed 40,000 US dollars and 150,000 RMB yuan in bribes, two diamond rings and two diamond necklaces. Geng's sentence was suspended in view of his cooperative attitude in confessing his crimes. His illegal income and jewelry have been confiscated by the court. |
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