SHENZHEN, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese court on Thursday sentenced Tong Daochi, a former senior official of south China's Hainan Province, to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes and insider trading.
Tong was also deprived of political rights for life and had all of his personal property confiscated, according to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province, adding that the illegal gains he obtained through the crimes, as well as the benefits generating from them, should be confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.
Tong was formerly a standing committee member of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and former Party chief of the province's Sanya City. He had also held posts at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
The court found that between 2004 and 2020, Tong had taken advantage of his various posts at the CSRC and in Hainan to offer assistance to others regarding the listing of companies, business operation, financing borrowing and personnel promotion. In return, he accepted money and gifts worth over 274 million yuan (about 41 million U.S. dollars) either by himself or via people affiliated with him.
He was also found to have abused the inside information he obtained via his post at the CSRC to instruct his close relatives and other close connections to buy relevant stocks worth over 31.65 million yuan, obtaining illegal gains of over 3.38 million yuan between 2006 and 2007.
The court statement said the sum of bribes Tong had taken was especially huge and the circumstances of his crime were especially heinous, inflicting huge losses to the state and the people. However, considering that he had faithfully confessed to his crimes during the investigation, showed repentance and had been cooperative in returning all his illegal gains, a lenient sentence was granted. ■
