Society

NW China official sentenced to life for taking bribes

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-30 16:45

URUMQI -- A county-level Communist Party of China (CPC) official in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was given a life sentence for accepting millions of yuan in bribes, officials at a local court said Wednesday.

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The Urumqi Intermediate People's Court announced the verdict on Tuesday in which Liu Kasheng, former CPC party secretary of Bachu County, and his wife Qiu Xiaomei, were found guilty taking advantage of his position by demanding and accepting bribes.

The couple were convicted of accepting 5.68 million yuan ($861,000) and a portable computer worth 18,600 yuan ($2,818) during Liu's tenures as CPC party secretary in both Yecheng and Bachu Counties from 2002 to 2010.

Liu was also found guilty of acting independently in receiving more than 1 million yuan ($164,000) from five people.

The court ruling stripped Liu of his political rights for life and confiscated all his property. His wife, Qiu, received a 15 year jail sentence.

The bribes the duo had accepted were also confiscated, according to the court ruling.

The two defendants appealed the first-instance verdict at the court.