SHANGHAI: The city's high court yesterday upheld a 16-year jail term for former property tycoon Zhou Zhengyi, rejecting his appeal for a lenient sentence, court sources said.
Zhou, 46, once the richest man in Shanghai, was sentenced late last year to a total of 16 years' jail for forging VAT receipts, bribery and embezzlement.
The high court said in its verdict that the previous ruling by the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court conformed to the law and the punishment was proper.
Zhou's attorney Zhao Guojun could not be reached for comment.
The former tycoon, who ranked 11th on Forbes magazine's 2002 rich list, made his fortune selling his Zhang-guang 101 range of hair growth products to Japan in the 1980s.
In the late 90s, he boosted his wealth through a series of high profile company and property purchases in partnership with his fiancee Mao Yuping.
In 2003, Zhou was jailed for fraud and stock market manipulation. He was released in 2006.
Five months later, he was arrested again. Investigations into a social security fund scandal, which led to the sacking and arrest of Shanghai's former Party secretary Chen Liangyu, also led to Zhou's arrest, the Shanghai prosecutors' office had said.
Zhou was accused of manipulating the accounts of more than 10 firms, which he owned or had a stake in, by forging VAT receipts for the purposes of getting bank loans.
He also embezzled more than 200 million yuan ($27.6 million) from the Daying Modern Agriculture Co Ltd, according to the previous verdict made by the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court late last year.
During his imprisonment, Zhou bribed four prison officials and one of their wives with money, cars and business opportunities.
In August, the Shanghai High People's Court sentenced the officials involved to jail.
Source: China Daily
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