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Liang Yaohua, accused of smuggling 262 cars and evading 51.32 million yuan (US$6.20 million) in taxes, was sentenced to death Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.
He was deprived of political rights for life, and all his personal property was confiscated.
A woman accessory, Li Shana, was sentenced to ten years in jail with a fine of 15.4 million yuan (US$1.86 million) by the municipal court of Guangzhou.
Liang, a 37-year-old man, and Li were accused of smuggling cars from Hong Kong from 1995 to 1998 and bribing government officials and policemen including the former Vice-Minister of Public Security, Li Jizhou.
About 200 government and custom officials and policemen were implicated in Liang's case and more than 30 have been investigated or prosecuted.
The two criminals said they would appeal to the provincial court.
Li Jizhou was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in Beijing in October last year for taking bribes from Lai Changxing, the mastermind behind the Xiamen smuggling case, and dereliction of duty.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2002)
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