CHANGSHA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A court in central China's Hunan Province on Friday sentenced a man to 18 months in prison for posing as a department chief of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The People's Court of Furong District in the city of Changsha ruled that Zou Binyong was guilty of "swindling by false pretenses" from March 2011 to December 2011. He was arrested in Changsha in July 2012.
The court upheld evidence showing that Zou posed as a deputy director of the Basic Industries Department of NDRC, China's top economic planner.
Zou lied when he told a Changsha contractor that he was in charge of China's infrastructure construction planning. The businessman, hoping to receive favors through government bids, offered Zou tens of thousands of yuan in bribe money.
Through his phony status, Zou even got acquainted with a senior executive of the Hunan Grain Group. He was invited to inspect the state-owned company and give a lecture to the group's management.
According to the court order, Zou will serve 18 months behind bars.
The defendant and his lawyer were not immediately available for comment.
Strong wind, thunder hit Liuzhou City in S. China's Guangxi
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