A former Chinese lawmaker was executed Friday in the northeastern Jilin Province after being convicted of bribery, misappropriation of funds, rape, illegal possession of weapons, organized crime and organizing prostitution.

Sang Yuechun, former member of the Ninth National People's Congress, was convicted of taking bribes and misappropriating 120 million yuan (15 million US dollars), but court officials did not provide details of his other crimes.

He was executed following approval by the Supreme People's Court.

Sang, president of Jigang Industrial and Trade Group Corporation, was also convicted of conspiring to conceal his crimes by destroying financial records and accounts of the company.

The ruling at the Intermediate People's Court of Jilin City also ordered the confiscation of all his personal property.

His appeal was rejected by the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court.

Chinese courts convicted six provincial and ministerial officials to prison last year, the same as in 2004, while lower-ranking officials received other penalties.

Courts across the country heard 24,277 cases of embezzlement, bribery and dereliction of duty last year, and sentenced 1,932 officials above county level to prison.

Source: Xinhua