Corrupt Official Sentenced to Death in SW ChinaZheng Daofang, former deputy director of the Communications Department of Southwest China's Sichuan Province was sentenced to death November 16 in Chengdu by the Sichuan Higher People's Court for accepting bribes and possessing huge properties without a known source for the money.Zheng 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 more than 8 million yuan, US$84,591, and HK$45,000. The former official accepted the bribes in collaboration with his two family members, when he held 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 a source for over 4.8 million yuan and HK$45,000 that the prosecutors found in his possession. |
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