China's former statistics chief sentenced to life in prison
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The former head of China’s statistics bureau has been sentenced to life in jail after being convicted of taking massive bribes over more than two decades — one of a spate of newly resolved public corruption cases involving almost $135 million in money and gifts.
National Bureau of Statistics head Wang Baoan was accused of trading political favours for money, sex, gifts, property and business concessions, according to a court in Hebei province and the official Xinhua News Agency. The bribes reportedly worth 153 million yuan ($30.2m) were channelled to Wang either directly or through relatives.
Control over information such as bank lending and local economic growth is enormously valuable in China, where the government often operates in secret and officials are mainly evaluated for promotion based on their ability to meet economic development targets.
Wang’s sentencing was one of seven in corruption trials involving senior public officials reported on Wednesday and yesterday by Xinhua. The cases involved a combined 650 million yuan in bribes, an enormous sum compared to the relatively modest salaries paid to public officials in China. Four of the officials, including Wang, received life sentences.
President Xi Jinping has made attacking corruption a central issue since taking leadership of the ruling Communist Party in late 2012. Although the pace of investigations has slowed somewhat, prosecutions were reportedly launched against 48 senior officials last year alone.
A former general and member of the Politburo Standing Committee have also been jailed under the campaign.
On Friday, Chinese authorities executed former Inner Mongolia police chief Zhao Liping after he was convicted of murder and taking bribes. Zhao’s family said he was tortured to force a confession.
Wang was accused of taking bribes from 1994 until 2016, when he was expelled from the Communist Party and the investigation into his activities began. During that period, he also served in the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Finance.
In August, Xinhua described Wang as “morally bankrupt,” and accused him of frequenting high-end hotels and luxurious entertainment venues, as well as trading power and money for sex “insatiably”.
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au
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