The former head of north China's Hebei provincial tax department was sentenced to death for corruption Friday, while other provincial government officials were given different jail terms for economic crimes.
Li Zhen, former head of the provincial administration of state taxes, was sentenced to death at the first trial by the Tangshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court. Li was found to have illegally collected 6.76 million yuan (US$814,460) worth of property and US$160,000 in cash, besides collaborating with others in the embezzlement of the assets of two companies valued at 48.39 million yuan.
Wu Qingwu, former deputy head of the general office of the Hebei provincial government, was sentenced to death with two years reprieve. Wu was found to have participated in the embezzlement of the assets of the aforementioned two companies and acting as a middleman in bribery valued at 400,000 yuan.
Other convicts included former deputy secretary-general of the Hebei provincial government Wang Fuyou, former Cangzhou Party secretary Bo Shaoquan, former deputy head of the general office of the Hebei provincial government Yang Yiming, former deputy head of the Hebei provincial construction committee Li Shanlin, and former mayor of Shijiazhuang city Zhang Erchen. They were sentenced to different jail terms varying from 10 years to life imprisonment.
(People's Daily August 31, 2002)
