Notorious smuggler Lai dealt life sentence
By Li Qian |
May 19, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LAI Changxing, once China's No. 1 fugitive at the center of the nation's biggest corruption scandal that also brought down dozens of government officials, was sentenced yesterday to life imprisonment for smuggling and bribery.
The Intermediate People's Court of Xiamen said the 53-year-old convict, as the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation, should be held responsible for all the crimes his syndicate committed.
The court also confiscated all his personal assets and illegal income.
The Fujian Province native had formed a smuggling ring by establishing firms and bases in Hong Kong and Xiamen since 1991, including the major one - Yuanhua Group in Xiamen.
From December 1995 to May 1999, Lai's syndicate smuggled cigarettes, cars, refined oil, vegetable oil, chemical materials, textile materials and other commodities worth 27.395 billion yuan (US$3.69 billion) and evaded duties of 13.999 billion yuan, according to the verdict.
To facilitate his transactions, Lai himself and his ring members bribed 64 government officials with 39.13 million yuan between 1991 and 1999, the court said.
The illegal business offered Lai a life of luxury in China, complete with a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz. He also had a mansion in which he plied officials with liquor and prostitutes.
Television stations carried pictures of what were said to be the smuggling operation's ill-gotten gains - a tiger skin rug laid out on a conference table, cars that had belonged to corrupt bureaucrats, a sack of gold rings and a picture of a young woman said to be a lover kept for one official by Lai.
The scandal embroiled more than 200 senior officials in local and central governments, and 14 of them have been sentenced to death, including Yang Qianxian, former director of the Xiamen Customs, and Zhuang Rushun, former deputy director of Fujian's Department of Public Security.
The smuggling operation "seriously disrupted China's economic order and created huge economic losses for the nation," the Ministry of Public Security said.
Authorities set up a special group to investigate Lai's case in April 1999. Lai then fled to Canada in mid-1999 with his family and claimed refugee status, claiming the allegations against him were "politically motivated."
For 12 years Lai fought his deportation to China by arguing he could face the death penalty or be tortured and would not get a fair trial in his home country. Canada rejected his refugee claim, and years of legal wrangling ensued.
The Federal Court of Canada refused a request to stay the deportation of Lai on July 21, 2011, finally clearing the way for his extradition. He was repatriated to China two days later.
Thirty-one suspects connected to the smuggling operation have been sent back to China since 2001, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Lai, who has severe heart disease and diabetes, had special medical treatment while he was imprisoned in Beijing.
He was taken to Xiamen on March 28 and his trial ended on April 22.
The Intermediate People's Court of Xiamen said the 53-year-old convict, as the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation, should be held responsible for all the crimes his syndicate committed.
The court also confiscated all his personal assets and illegal income.
The Fujian Province native had formed a smuggling ring by establishing firms and bases in Hong Kong and Xiamen since 1991, including the major one - Yuanhua Group in Xiamen.
From December 1995 to May 1999, Lai's syndicate smuggled cigarettes, cars, refined oil, vegetable oil, chemical materials, textile materials and other commodities worth 27.395 billion yuan (US$3.69 billion) and evaded duties of 13.999 billion yuan, according to the verdict.
To facilitate his transactions, Lai himself and his ring members bribed 64 government officials with 39.13 million yuan between 1991 and 1999, the court said.
The illegal business offered Lai a life of luxury in China, complete with a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz. He also had a mansion in which he plied officials with liquor and prostitutes.
Television stations carried pictures of what were said to be the smuggling operation's ill-gotten gains - a tiger skin rug laid out on a conference table, cars that had belonged to corrupt bureaucrats, a sack of gold rings and a picture of a young woman said to be a lover kept for one official by Lai.
The scandal embroiled more than 200 senior officials in local and central governments, and 14 of them have been sentenced to death, including Yang Qianxian, former director of the Xiamen Customs, and Zhuang Rushun, former deputy director of Fujian's Department of Public Security.
The smuggling operation "seriously disrupted China's economic order and created huge economic losses for the nation," the Ministry of Public Security said.
Authorities set up a special group to investigate Lai's case in April 1999. Lai then fled to Canada in mid-1999 with his family and claimed refugee status, claiming the allegations against him were "politically motivated."
For 12 years Lai fought his deportation to China by arguing he could face the death penalty or be tortured and would not get a fair trial in his home country. Canada rejected his refugee claim, and years of legal wrangling ensued.
The Federal Court of Canada refused a request to stay the deportation of Lai on July 21, 2011, finally clearing the way for his extradition. He was repatriated to China two days later.
Thirty-one suspects connected to the smuggling operation have been sent back to China since 2001, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Lai, who has severe heart disease and diabetes, had special medical treatment while he was imprisoned in Beijing.
He was taken to Xiamen on March 28 and his trial ended on April 22.
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