Corrupt mayor gets maximum penalty

SHANGHAI: The former vice-mayor of Suzhou has been sentenced to death for accepting more than 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) in bribes between 2001 and 2004, the prosecutors in Nanjing said on Wednesday.

Jiang Renjie, a Hubei province native and former head of Suzhou's urban planning, construction, transportation, communications and housing, was prosecuted in March 2006.

A Nanjing court ruled the 60-year-old, who was also involved in the embezzlement of public funds, siphoned 109 million yuan, HK$50,000 and $4,000 from property developers and a scientific development company, the Nanjing Daily reported.