Former Guizhou Party chief sentenced to death with reprieve for taking bribes
Sun Zhigang, former secretary of the Communist Party of China Guizhou Provincial Committee, has been sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, for taking bribes.
The sentence was handed down by a court in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday.
Sun was also deprived of his political rights for life and all of his personal property will be confiscated, while all his illegal gains will be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, the ruling said.
After the two-year reprieve period expires and the penalty is commuted to life imprisonment in accordance with the law, no further commutation or parole will be allowed, according to the ruling.
Sun was convicted of illegally accepting bribes worth over 813 million yuan (US$114 million), either by himself or via other people.
The court found that between 2002 and 2023, Sun had abused his power in various posts to provide assistance to units and individuals in matters such as business operations, stock subscriptions, project contracting and real estate development – accepting money and other valuables in return.
The court noted that some of Sun's criminal intentions had not progressed beyond attempts and that Sun had cooperated in both the investigation and in returning his illegal gains, most of which had been recovered. These facts were taken into consideration in handing down the sentence.