Wednesday, March 28, 2001, updated at 09:30(GMT+8)
China
Official Sentenced to Life in Jail for Taking Bribes
Zhang Kuntong, former director of the Transport Department of central China's Henan Province was sentenced to life in prison for taking 1 million yuan (US$120,000) in bribes.
The Intermediate People's Court of Xinxiang handed down the verdict on Tuesday after the trial.
Zhang also embezzled 100,000 yuan of public funds, and along with his imprisonment sentence he was deprived of political rights for life, according to the rule of the court.
Zhang, 59, confessed he had accepted bribes when he held a position in the Provincial Construction Department and the Transport Department during the 1990's.
Zhang Kuntong, former director of the Transport Department of central China's Henan Province was sentenced to life in prison for taking 1 million yuan (120,000 US dollars) in bribes.