Former senior political advisor sentenced to death with reprieve for bribery

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Wu Yingjie, a former member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was sentenced on Wednesday to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes.

Wu, also former head of the Committee on Culture, Historical Data and Studies of the CPPCC National Committee, was deprived of his political rights for life, all of his personal property will be confiscated, and his illegal gains from bribery will be recovered and turned over to the national treasury, according to the verdict of the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People's Court.

The court found that between June 2006 and February 2021, Wu took advantage of his various positions in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region to benefit others in matters related to project contracts and business operation, accepting money and valuables worth 343 million yuan (about 48 million U.S. dollars) in return.

The court determined that Wu's offenses had caused particularly serious losses to the interests of the state and the people. However, he received a lenient sentence due to mitigating factors, including his reporting of others' suspected illegal and criminal activities, which were later verified, as well as his confession and remorse, and proactive return of his illicit gains. ■