Society

Corrupt county boss gets suspended death sentence

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-07 06:45

LANZHOU - A court in Northwest China's Gansu province on Wednesday sentenced a former county boss to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes.

The Intermediate People's Court of Baiyin city also ordered the confiscation of the former official's personal assets and deprived his political rights.

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Wang Xianmin, the former Communist Party chief of Dangchang county in Longnan city, was found guilty of accepting 10.5 million yuan ($1.6 million) in bribes from construction contractors and his subordinates.

Wang also had 3.5 million yuan worth of assets which he could not account for, according to the verdict.

However, he was given a lighter sentence because he confessed to his crimes, which he committed between 2006 and 2010, and returned the illegal earnings, the verdict said.

Wang said he would appeal the first-trial verdict.

In China, suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoner does not commit any further offense over the next two years.