A former deputy minister of public security in China was sentenced on Friday for corruption to the death penalty, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, a court announced, in a ruling that joins a series of similar sentences this week.
Sun Lijun, 53, a former deputy minister of public security, pleaded guilty during the trial in July and his name was cited in many cases.
The death penalty sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years of detention, according to a statement released by the people’s court in Changchun, capital of Jilin province (northeast).
Chinese officials announced several convictions of senior officials this week, just ahead of the Communist Party congress in October, at which President Xi Jinping hopes to win a third term as secretary-general of formation.
Sun Lijun “used” the various positions he held between 2001 and 2020 to “assist” individuals and companies to circumvent the law through a fee, the court said.
Directly or through people close to him, he received bribes totaling 646 million yuan (US$91 million).
The crimes are “particularly serious and have caused significant damage to the interests of the country and the population”, highlighted the court, which ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets.
At least 1.5 million people have been punished in Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign since he came to power in 2013.
On Thursday, former justice minister and ex-police commander Fu Zhenghua, 67, was sentenced to death, a sentence also commuted to life imprisonment, for accepting bribes totaling US$16.65 million.
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