Sun Zhengcai sentenced to life in jail for bribery

World
Europe

Sun Zhengcai, former secretary of the municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of southwestern Chongqing Municipality, was sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes of over 170 million yuan (26.7 million US dollars).

Sun said he accepted the ruling and would not appeal.

The sentence was announced Tuesday by the First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin Municipality, in north China.

He was deprived of his political rights for life, and all his personal property was confiscated, according to the verdict.

Sun's illegal gains and relevant yields they generated will be retrieved, the court said.

Sun was also a member of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

Sun Zhengcai stands trial in Tianjin, north China, April 12, 2018. /The First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin Photo‍

Disgraced senior official

Sun, born in September 1963, was Chongqing's Party chief from 2012 to 2017. He was put under investigation by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and removed from the post in July last year.

Sun was expelled from the CPC and dismissed from public office for "serious discipline violations" on September 29, 2017 according to a decision by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Investigations have found that Sun lost his "political stance" and "seriously trampled on the Party's political disciplines and rules," a report by Xinhua news agency said, adding that he seriously violated the CPC's "eight-point rules" against extravagance, waste and graft.

He also leaked Party secrets, abused his power and influence to seek profits for others, took expensive gifts and engaged in the "exchange between power and sex," the Xinhua report said.

Then his case was transferred to judicial departments.

Sun Zhengcai stands trial in Tianjin, north China, April 12, 2018. /The First Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin Photo‍

China aims at 'sweeping victory' in anti-graft campaign

China's nationwide fight against corruption has gained momentum since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, with hundreds of senior officials investigated.

According to the CCDI, a total of 159,100 people were punished in 2017 for violating the Party's code of conduct and involvement in corruption.

"Currently, the fight against corruption remains grave and complex," Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed in his report to the 19th CPC National Congress in October last year. "We must remain as firm as a rock in our resolve to build on the overwhelming momentum and secure a sweeping victory."

China's supervision law: What is it, why does it matter?

Zhao Leji (L), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI, attends the inauguration ceremony of China's National Supervisory Commission in Beijing, March 23, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

Meanwhile, the country is also carrying out institutional reform to facilitate the anti-corruption campaign. Supervisory commissions have been set up at the national, provincial, city and county levels as a new state organ.

The reform is aimed at supervising everyone in the public sector exercising public power, including those who are not members of the CPC and those not working in the government.

(With inputs from Xinhua)