Former Chinese political advisor sentenced to death with reprieve for graft

Sun Shanwu, former vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Henan Provincial Committee, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for graft in eastern China's Shandong Province Tuesday.

According to the Weifang Intermediate People Court, Sun, 63, was found to have taken bribes worth of more than 9.1 million yuan (about 1.33 million U.S. dollars) from 2002 to 2006, when he served as the member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Henan Provincial Committee, and secretary of the CPC Luoyang municipal committee.

Sun also abused his power to enable profits for nine people, including Li Yichao, former boss of Luoyang Zhongtai Group of Henan Province.

Li was detained in 2007 for suspected tax evasion. In 2006, he was ranked No. 342 on the Forbes list of richest Chinese mainlanders with an estimated 880 million yuan.

The Weifang Intermediate People Court said Sun's sentence was based on the "huge amount of bribes he took and the grave crime he committee as government officials."

Source: Xinhua