Former anti-corruption official given suspended death sentence for corruption

Wang Huayuan, a former top anti-corruption official in east China's Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes by a court in eastern China's Shandong Province Thursday.

The Intermediate People's Court of Zaozhuang handed down the sentence for the trial that began July 14.

Wang was charged with taking bribes and failing to explain the source of his personal assets, all of which have been confiscated.

Wang was accused of abusing his position as secretary of the provincial commissions for discipline inspection in Guangdong and Zhejiang while a senior official in the two provinces between 1998 and 2009.

In return for bribes, Wang dispensed favorable treatment that helped others in business, employment, litigation and in avoiding arrest, the court said.

He was charged with taking 7.71 million yuan (about 1.13 million U.S. dollars) in bribes.

Wang was unable to explain the source of 8.94 million yuan of his personal assets.

The court said the bribes were "enormous" and that Wang's offenses were "extremely serious." But considering that Wang had cooperated with investigators, confessed to all his crimes and returned all the illegally-gained assets, he was given a suspended death sentence.

It is unclear whether Wang will appeal.

Wang, 62, was detained and put under investigation in April last year. He was stripped of his membership of the Communist Party of China and his post in August the same year.

He was one of the eight ministerial-level officials investigated for corruption last year.

The others included the former vice president of the supreme court, Huang Songyou - who was sentenced on Jan. 19 to life imprisonment for taking bribes and embezzlement - and the former vice president of state-owned China Development Bank, Wang Yi - who received a suspended death sentence on April 15 for taking bribes.

Source:Xinhua