Former senior Guizhou political advisor given death sentence with reprieve

CHONGQING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Li Zaiyong, a former senior political advisor in southwest China's Guizhou Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and abuse of power on Tuesday.

Li, formerly the vice chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was found to have taken bribes worth over 432 million yuan (about 60.44 million U.S. dollars), the court said.

The sentence was handed down by the Fifth Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing.

In addition, Li was deprived of political rights for life, all of his personal property will be confiscated, and all his illegal gains should be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, the court sentence said.

The court found that between 1998 and 2023, the defendant, taking advantage of his various posts including the vice governor of Guizhou, had provided assistance to others in matters such as project contracting, land requisition, and project planning and approval.

In return, he illegally accepted over 432 million yuan in cash and valuables, though most of the bribes were not actually obtained by him, the court said.

Also, the court found that between 2014 and 2017, while serving in the province's Liupanshui, Li violated relevant laws and regulations and forcibly initiated tourism development projects that resulted in huge ecological damage. The court said Li voluntarily confessed to his abuse of power during the case investigation.

The court said the sentence was handed down with the consideration that Li had showed remorse, and had been cooperative in confessing his crimes and in returning the illegal gains.