ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Jin Xiangjun, former governor of north China's Shanxi Province, was sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, for taking bribes.
The sentence was handed down by a court in Xinyang, central China's Henan Province, on Tuesday.
Jin was also deprived of his political rights for life. All of his personal property shall be confiscated, and his illegal gains shall be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, according to the court sentence.
The court found that Jin had abused his power at various posts, including those in Guangxi, Tianjin and Shanxi, to provide assistance to companies and individuals in matters such as business operations, project contracting and personnel promotion. In return, he illegally accepted money and valuables worth over 148 million yuan (about 21.8 million U.S. dollars).
The court noted that Jin's offenses had caused particularly serious losses to the interests of the state and the people. However, because his offenses involved attempted acts, he cooperated with the investigation, and some of his illegal gains were recovered, the court decided to impose a lighter sentence.
A public hearing on the case was held on June 11.
Jin was expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from public office in October last year. ■
