Tian Fengshan, former Chinese Minister of Land and Resources,
was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights
for life on Tuesday for accepting bribes worth 4.36 million yuan
(US$538,270).
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court handed down the
verdict in the first instance. All his personal assets had been
confiscated.
According to the court verdict, from 1996 to 2003, Tian took
advantage of his posts as governor of Heilongjiang Province and
Minister of Land and Resources to seek personal gains for the
officials who gave bribes to him.
All the illicit money and bribes, accepted by Tian, have been
recovered, the court said.
The court verdict said Tian Fengshan had committed a crime of
bribery. In the capacity of a civil servant, Tian misused his power
to seek illicit gains for those who offered bribes and accepted
their bribes. And the amount of bribes he had taken was especially
large.
However, in view of the fact that Tian confessed most crimes he
had committed, repented his crimes and being active in returning
accepted bribes, he was given a lenient punishment, court verdict
said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2005)