Former national TCM administration head jailed 15 years for bribery

Yu Wenming, former head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday by a court in Tianjin for bribery.

Yu was also fined 6 million yuan ($892,782), with his illicit gains and related interests confiscated and ordered to be turned over to the State treasury, according to the ruling announced by the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

The court found that Yu, from 2009 to February 2021, took advantage of his positions in the administration to seek benefits for others in various matters, such as drug registration approval and renewal of product registration certificate, and accepted bribes worth more than 63.44 million in return.

The court identified that Yu's behavior had constituted the crime of bribery and should be severely punished due to the "extremely large" bribes he took.

Considering that Yu voluntarily reported bribes unknown to investigators, confessed to the crime and actively returned his illegal proceeds, the court decided to exercise leniency in sentencing.

Public information shows that the 63-year-old native of Shandong province, a member of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, began his career in August 1988 and spent decades working in the country's medicine and pharmaceutical sector.

Yu became the deputy head of the TCM national administration in April 2004, and was promoted to head of the authority in June 2018. He also served as full-time vice-chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party Central Committee from December 2017 to December 2022.

After retirement, he remained active in the medicine industry. He was placed under investigation in June 2025 and prosecuted for suspected bribery in April this year.

On June 17, the court publicly heard the case, where nearly 20 individuals, including Yu's family members, national lawmakers and political advisers, attended the trial.

During the proceeding, the court allowed prosecutors, as well as Yu and his lawyer, to fully share their opinions and produce evidence, ending with Yu's guilty plea in his final statement.