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Former Official Sentenced to Death for Taking Bribes
The intermediate court of Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tuesday sentenced a local official to death for accepting bribes and possessing huge properties without a known source for the money.
Zheng Daofang, a former deputy director of the communications bureau of the provincial government, was also deprived of his own properties and political rights for life.
Meanwhile, the court sentenced his wife, Gao Jialan, and his son, Zheng Qin, to 15 years and 12 years in prison, respectively, on charges of taking bribes. The two also had their own properties confiscated.
The court ruled to confiscate the detained and frozen assets of the couple worth of 8,129,252.66 yuan, 84,591 US dollars, and 45,080 HK dollars.
The former official accepted the bribes in collaboration with his two family members, when he was holding a number of leading positions responsible for building expressways across the province between 1994 and April this year, according to the court.
On April 18, local public prosecutors searched the office of the former official and the residences of the couple and their son to find and confiscate the huge amounts of local and foreign currencies.
The former official has failed to prove the source of 4,811,906.41 yuan and 45,000 HK dollars the prosecutors found in his possession.
The former official was to take most responsibility for the crimes, while his two family members received lighter charges for their lesser role in the case. His son was given less time in prison for confessing all the crimes he committed and also for exposing others', the court said.
All the three defendants have objections to the sentencing and said they will appeal against the rulings.
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