China Ex-rail Minister Gets Suspended Death for Bribery

Local Editor

A Chinese court Monday gave former railways minister Liu Zhijun a suspended death sentence, the highest-ranking official to be punished for corruption since new leaders took office vowing to clean up the ruling Communist Party.

Once hailed as the "father" of China's flagship high-speed rail network, Liu, 60, was convicted of bribery and abuse of power by a court in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said.

State television showed the diminutive, bespectacled defendant standing impassively in the dock in a dark jacket, flanked by two police.
Liu was sacked as railways minister in 2011 after eight years in the post, and the scandal surrounding him is reported to have involved as much as 800 million yuan.
 
He was charged and convicted of accepting 64.6 million yuan in bribes to help 11 people secure contracts and promotions, Xinhua said, adding that he "took advantage of his positions" and "inflicted colossal losses in the public assets, violating rights and interests of the state and the people".
"Liu Zhijun was sentenced to the death penalty with two years' suspension," a court official told AFP by phone.

Under Chinese law the death penalty can be imposed for taking bribes exceeding 100,000 yuan. Suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment.
The court also ordered all of Liu's personal property to be confiscated and issued a separate sentence of 10 years in prison for abuse of power, Xinhua said.

The country's new leaders under President Xi Jinping have vowed to fight corruption, identifying it as a threat to Communist Party rule.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team