Former Haikou Party chief gets death sentence with reprieve

Luo Zengbin, former Party chief of Haikou, the capital city of South China's Hainan province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in the province on Saturday for taking bribes worth hundreds of millions of yuan.

According to the ruling announced by the Chenzhou Intermediate People's Court, Luo was also deprived of his political rights for life, while all his personal assets were seized. Luo's illicit gains, along with any related interests, will be confiscated and turned over to the State treasury.

The court found Luo took advantage of his positions in Sichuan and Hainan provinces to seek benefits for relevant departments and individuals in matters such as business operation, contract acquisition, project advancement and fund allocation, accepting bribes of more than 317 million yuan ($46.22 million) in return.

The court determined that Luo's behavior constituted the crime of bribery and that he should be sentenced to death because of the "extremely large" amounts involved and the consequent "extremely huge" losses to the country and the people.

The court added it decided to grant leniency in sentencing, taking into account that Luo offered credible information on other major cases, did not succeed in accepting some bribes, voluntarily disclosed most of the bribery incidents unknown to investigators, confessed to the crimes, and proactively returned the illicit gains.

The 59-year-old native of Sichuan started his career in July 1990 and joined the Communist Party of China in June 1993. Before he went to Hainan in 2022, he had served various positions in his home province, including mayor of Guang'an and Party chief in Mianyang.

In January 2022, he became a member of the standing committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and secretary of the CPC municipal committee of Haikou.

Luo was placed under investigation in December 2024 and, in May 2025, he was expelled from the Party and removed from public office. Five months later, he was indicted on the charge of bribery.

The court heard the case in public at the end of last year.