Ex-minister sentenced to life term for bribery By Liu Li (China Daily) Updated: 2005-12-28 06:08
Tian Fengshan, former minister of land and resources, was sentenced to life
imprisonment yesterday for accepting bribes worth 4.36 million yuan
(US$538,000).
Tian
Fengshan | All his personal properties will be
confiscated, according to the verdict of the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's
Court, Xinhua News Agency reported.
From 1996 to 2003, Tian took advantage of his posts as governor of
Heilongjiang Province and central government minister to unduly reward officials
who bribed him, the court said.
All the bribes accepted by Tian have been recovered.
Tian, 65, was guilty of accepting large amounts of bribes which could have
got him the death sentence but the court was lenient because he confessed most
of his crimes, repented and returned the bribes, sources said.
Xinhua said Tian was accused of taking money on 17 occasions but didn't say
where that money came from or what Tian was accused of doing in exchange.
Tian took office as governor of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in
1995 and was appointed minister of land and resources in 2000.
He was relieved of his last position in 2003, and arrested and expelled from
the Communist Party of China last year.
A TV grab shows
Tian Fengshan standing a trial in Beijing. | Tian was one of a group of senior corrupt officials who have been rooted out
in Heilongjiang.
Han Guizhi, former chairwoman of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was earlier this month
sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting 7.02 million yuan
(US$875,000) in bribes.
In July, Ma De, former Party secretary of Suihua in Heilongjiang, was also
sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes worth 6 million
yuan (US$740,000).
Tian's former deputy in Heilongjiang Zhu Shengwen committed suicide in prison
in 2003.
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from CPC
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Ex-minister to stand trial on graft
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