Former tech group executive sentenced for bribery

He Wenzhong, former deputy general manager of China Electronics Technology Group Corp, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes of over 289 million yuan ($40.28 million), a court in Hebei province announced on Monday.

He was also deprived of his political rights for life, with confiscation of all his personal assets, according to the ruling made by the Zhangjiakou Intermediate People's Court.

His illicit gains and related interests have been ordered to be turned over to the State treasury, the ruling said.

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison if the inmate commits no further crimes during the two-year probation period. The sentence can be reduced further for good behavior.

The court found that He, from 2006 to 2023, took advantage of his positions in the company to seek benefits for some individuals and departments in matters such as supplying products and obtaining funds, and in return received kickbacks totaling more than 289 million yuan.

The court said He should be sentenced to death because he received a significantly large amount of bribes and his offenses had a significant negative impact on society, causing extremely serious losses to the country and the people.

However, the court said it showed leniency as He confessed to his crimes, voluntarily reported bribes he received that were unknown to investigators and actively returned his illicit gains.

Publicly available information shows that He, 54, became the deputy head of the company in May 2023.

In April 2024, he was placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation. Later that year, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from public office.

In January, he was indicted on the charge of bribery, and the court publicly heard the case in April.