Li Jizhou Said Accepting Huge Bribes, May Face Death PenaltyLi Jizhou, former vice-minister of public security, could face death penalty if the court finds the prosecution's charge that he accepted more than 10 million yuan of bribery is true.A line set by the Supreme People's Court of China rules that an official verified to have accepted more than 5 million yuan (US$600,000) of bribery will be given the capital punishment. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Prosecutorate has filed Li's case at the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, accusing him of serious bribery, dereliction of duty and systematic covering up smuggling, the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV website reported. The prosecution asked for death penalty for Li, the website said. It added that the Beijing court could begin to hear Li's case prior to the coming of the National Day holiday on October 1. Through three months' investigation, the Beijing Intermediate People's Procuratorate has found Li was also entangled in the notorious Yuanhua smuggling scandal, taking colossal amount of bribes via issuing licenses to smuggled cars, granting passports and involving in illegal transactions valued at more than 1 billion yuan. In his tenure as deputy minister of public security, Li was responsible for border inspection, extrance and exit issues and the government's effort of fighting smuggling. Li Jizhou case was exposed in September 1998 when Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji appealed for stern efforts to combat smuggling during his South China tour that year. Li was arrested formally in the beginning of 1999 and was deposted and expelled from the Chinese Communist Party in April 1999, according to the Phoenix TV website. |
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