China sentences ex-deputy minister to suspended sentence for taking bribes

The People’s Court in the Chinese city of Changchun (Jilin Province) sentenced former member of the party committee of the Ministry of State Security of China, 67-year-old Liu Yanping to death for accepting bribes worth more than 234 million yuan ($34.5 million). The verdict was announced with a deferred execution for a period of 2 years. Yanping has been deprived of political rights for life, and all his property has been confiscated, according to China Central Television.

The official held various government posts from 2001 to 2022. He was Vice Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Party Committee member and leader of the discipline inspection team in this ministry.

According to the court, all this time he received money and real estate for assisting departments and individuals in doing business.

Yanping pleaded guilty, actively assisted the investigation, and returned the illegal proceeds. The court mitigated his punishment – after a reprieve, the sentence of the convict can be replaced by life imprisonment without the right to release. To do this, an official must not commit a deferment of an intentional crime within 2 years.

According to China Daily, Yanping joined the party in 1979. In September 2022, he was expelled from it after an investigation began against him in March.

In September 2022, Fu Zhenghua, the former Minister of Justice and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced to the same verdict. From 2005 to 2021, he used his official position: he provided patronage to individuals in doing business, for which he received bribes. As the court found, in total he received them for 117 million yuan (about $16.5 million). Also Zhenghua, according to the National Business Daily. concealed evidence of his younger brother’s crimes.

In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised zero tolerance for corruption in the country.