Three high-ranking Chinese officials jailed for corruption

World
Europe

China jailed on Friday three high-ranking officials, including the former CPC chief of northeastern Liaoning Province, for charges of corruption and abuse of power, as the government continues its crackdown on corruption.

Wang Min, former CPC chief of Liaoning

A court in central China's Henan Province sentenced Wang Min to life in prison after finding him guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty. The court also ordered all his assets to be seized.

Wang is the former Communist Party of China (CPC) chief of Jilin and Liaoning provinces, both in northeast China, and a senior national legislator.

Between 2004 and 2016, he took advantage of the various positions he held to seek personal gains for himself and his family in exchange for assisting others in promotions and business deals.

The had taken bribes of over 146 million yuan (22 million US dollars), the court said, noting that Wang also failed to prevent a vote-buying scandal in Liaoning's provincial legislature.

Xinhua Photo

A total of 523 lawmakers at the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress were implicated in the fraud case last year, with most resigning and some having their qualification as deputies terminated. Forty-five lawmakers were also removed for vote buying and bribery during the 2013 election.

Wu Tianjun, former security chief of Henan

On the same day, a court in central China's Hubei Province sentenced Wu Tianjun, former security chief of Henan Province, to 11 years behind bars and ordered the seizure of his assets, which are valued at 1 million yuan (148,600 US dollars).

Wu Tianjun

Between 2004 and 2015, when Wu held a range of jobs, including the chief of CPC's municipal committees of Xinxiang and Zhengzhou, he abused his power to gain bribes from local companies and individuals, the Intermediate People's Court of Xiangyang said.

He took bribes worth over 11 million yuan (1.6 million US dollars).

Yao Zhongmin, former head of CDB supervisory board

Yao Zhongmin

The former head of the supervisory board of China Development Bank (CDB), Yao Zhongmin, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 3.5 million yuan (520,000 US dollars) for corruption and bribery, a court in the city of Baoding, northern Hebei Province, said on Friday.

The official was found guilty of using his position to gain personal favors from construction projects when he held senior positions in the CDB between 2000 and 2013.