What’s new: Chen Jiadong, a former top legislator in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, was sentenced to life in prison on multiple corruption convictions, including taking 94.2 million yuan ($13 million) in bribes.
A court in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, pronounced the ruling on Chen, a former director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Xiamen who was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.
Chen, 64, abused his positions as a senior official in Tibet and Fujian between 2000 and 2022, accepting bribes in exchange for favors related to obtaining contracts and the rights to use forested land, among other issues, according to court documents.
The official also abused his position as party chief of Zhangzhou, Fujian province, to illegally overpay property developers for projects between 2013 and 2014, leading to a loss of more than 190 million yuan in state property. Using the same position, he also embezzled 3.4 million yuan of state property along with others between 2015 and 2017, the verdict shows.
The background: Chen is the 16th senior official to be sentenced on corruption convictions this year amid a sweeping national anti-graft crackdown.
Chen was placed under investigation by China’s top graft buster in February 2022. Six months later, he was removed from public office and expelled from the Communist Party. He stood trial in Nanchang in late June and pleaded guilty.
In April, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection singled out 10 cases of officials including Chen for violating party discipline.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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