Ex-Hangzhou Party chief sentenced for graft

Zhou Jiangyong, former Party chief of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes amounting to 182 million yuan ($25.5 million),according to a verdict issued by the Chuzhou Intermediate People's Court in Anhui province on Tuesday.

The court also deprived Zhou of his political rights for life and confiscated all his personal property. His illegal gains and proceeds will be handed over to the State treasury.

Zhou took advantage of his former positions, including as Party chief of the cities of Zhoushan,Wenzhou and Hangzhou in Zhejiang, to help companies and individuals win construction projects and obtain land. He also assisted in the handling of legal cases they were involved in.

In return, directly or through relatives, he accepted roughly 182 million yuan in money and property.

Zhou is guilty of accepting an extraordinary amount of bribes,and his actions have seriously harmed the interests of the State and the people. Thus, he should be severely punished according to the law, said the court.

Zhou confessed his crimes,including some facts that investigators did not know, and returned the stolen goods, leading the court to impose a more lenient punishment.

He pleaded guilty during his first trial in April.

The 56-year-old, a native of Zhejiang's Ningbo city, joined the Party in 1992. He served as Party chief of Zhoushan from 2015 to 2017, of Wenzhou from 2017 to 2018, and of Hangzhou from 2018 to 2021.

Zhou was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of disciplines and law in August 2021.