Death reprieve for ex-rail minister
Source: Xinhua |
July 9, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China's former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and abuse of power.
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court also deprived the 60-year-old of his political rights for life and confiscated all his personal property. According to the court verdict, Liu was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for abuse of power.
The court found that from 1986 to 2011, Liu took advantage of his positions, including that of minister, to help 11 people win promotions, project deals and transport contracts. He accepted 64.6 million yuan (US$10.52 million) in bribes during that time.
While he was railways minister, Liu helped Ding Yuxin and her relatives win transport and construction contracts, the court heard. He also helped them acquire shares in a bullet train wheel set company and with enterprise financing. This allowed Ding and her family to reap huge profits.
The court acknowledged that Liu confessed to his crimes, and even provided information about bribes that hadn't been uncovered in investigations.
Most of Liu's bribes and the majority of economic losses caused by his abuse of power had been recovered, the court said.
With his admission of guilt and repentance, Liu could be given a reprieve, the court said.
However, it said leniency would not be given regarding Liu's abuse of power as it was especially serious in terms of both circumstances and consequences.
Due to Liu's abuse of power, Ding and other businesspeople raked in more than 3 billion yuan worth of profits. Judicial authorities, correspondingly, seized and froze large amounts of cash, shares, properties and pieces of art, among other assets owned by Ding and the other businesspeople, trial judge Bai Shanyun said.
The seized and frozen assets included 374 properties. Bai said that they were not Liu's criminal gains, but illegal profits Ding and other businesspeople obtained through Liu's abuse of power, which highlighted the gravity of Liu's crime.
Previous media reports revealed that 49 million yuan of the 64.6 million in bribes was spent by Ding to benefit Liu. This raised questions over whether this part of the money should be regarded as bribes.
Bai said Liu had told Ding to "grease the wheels" and handle other relevant affairs for him and Ding had spent 49 million yuan to comply with Liu's orders.
"It is unlike an ordinary bribe-taking act where one receives bribes directly, as Liu has not directly possessed this money, and Liu's lawyers also argued that this act does not constitute a bribe-taking crime," Bai said.
However, evidence during the trial revealed that Liu had taken advantage of his positions to help Ding and her relatives obtain huge economic benefits. He also hinted that Ding should buy off relevant officials and people to free him of any implication in the case of He Hongda, a former senior official at the ministry investigated for corruption, as well as to create favorable conditions for him to secure a better position.
Liu confessed he was fully aware beforehand that such manipulation may cost a lot of money, and Ding also told him afterward that she spent tens of millions of yuan to carry out his instructions, the judge said.
"Although Liu did not directly take the money, the money was used by Ding at the behest of Liu and for the benefit of Liu," Bai said.
Ding also gave testimony confirming that she spent large amounts of money for Liu in return for Liu's help for her to reap huge profits, the judge said.
Taking these facts into account, Liu's behavior should be deemed as a power-for-money deal, and the court found that such acts constituted taking bribes.
Bai said that, apart from Liu's lawyers challenging whether the 49 million yuan should be considered as bribes, Liu and his defense showed no opposition to the evidence collection methods prosecutors adopted. Also, Liu admitted all the facts of his taking bribes and abuse of power.
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court also deprived the 60-year-old of his political rights for life and confiscated all his personal property. According to the court verdict, Liu was also sentenced to 10 years in jail for abuse of power.
The court found that from 1986 to 2011, Liu took advantage of his positions, including that of minister, to help 11 people win promotions, project deals and transport contracts. He accepted 64.6 million yuan (US$10.52 million) in bribes during that time.
While he was railways minister, Liu helped Ding Yuxin and her relatives win transport and construction contracts, the court heard. He also helped them acquire shares in a bullet train wheel set company and with enterprise financing. This allowed Ding and her family to reap huge profits.
The court acknowledged that Liu confessed to his crimes, and even provided information about bribes that hadn't been uncovered in investigations.
Most of Liu's bribes and the majority of economic losses caused by his abuse of power had been recovered, the court said.
With his admission of guilt and repentance, Liu could be given a reprieve, the court said.
However, it said leniency would not be given regarding Liu's abuse of power as it was especially serious in terms of both circumstances and consequences.
Due to Liu's abuse of power, Ding and other businesspeople raked in more than 3 billion yuan worth of profits. Judicial authorities, correspondingly, seized and froze large amounts of cash, shares, properties and pieces of art, among other assets owned by Ding and the other businesspeople, trial judge Bai Shanyun said.
The seized and frozen assets included 374 properties. Bai said that they were not Liu's criminal gains, but illegal profits Ding and other businesspeople obtained through Liu's abuse of power, which highlighted the gravity of Liu's crime.
Previous media reports revealed that 49 million yuan of the 64.6 million in bribes was spent by Ding to benefit Liu. This raised questions over whether this part of the money should be regarded as bribes.
Bai said Liu had told Ding to "grease the wheels" and handle other relevant affairs for him and Ding had spent 49 million yuan to comply with Liu's orders.
"It is unlike an ordinary bribe-taking act where one receives bribes directly, as Liu has not directly possessed this money, and Liu's lawyers also argued that this act does not constitute a bribe-taking crime," Bai said.
However, evidence during the trial revealed that Liu had taken advantage of his positions to help Ding and her relatives obtain huge economic benefits. He also hinted that Ding should buy off relevant officials and people to free him of any implication in the case of He Hongda, a former senior official at the ministry investigated for corruption, as well as to create favorable conditions for him to secure a better position.
Liu confessed he was fully aware beforehand that such manipulation may cost a lot of money, and Ding also told him afterward that she spent tens of millions of yuan to carry out his instructions, the judge said.
"Although Liu did not directly take the money, the money was used by Ding at the behest of Liu and for the benefit of Liu," Bai said.
Ding also gave testimony confirming that she spent large amounts of money for Liu in return for Liu's help for her to reap huge profits, the judge said.
Taking these facts into account, Liu's behavior should be deemed as a power-for-money deal, and the court found that such acts constituted taking bribes.
Bai said that, apart from Liu's lawyers challenging whether the 49 million yuan should be considered as bribes, Liu and his defense showed no opposition to the evidence collection methods prosecutors adopted. Also, Liu admitted all the facts of his taking bribes and abuse of power.
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