Former Chinese deputy police minister sentenced for graft
A former deputy police minister who was accused of leading a crime gang of government officials has received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve on charges of manipulating the stock market, taking bribes and other offenses
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A former deputy police minister who was accused of leading a crime gang of government officials was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve Friday on charges of manipulating the stock market, taking bribes and other offenses, Chinese state TV reported.
Sun Lijun’s conviction adds to a string of senior officials who have been punished in a marathon anti-graft crackdown launched after President Xi Jinping took power in late 2012 that some see as politically motivated.
The latest penalties come ahead of a meeting of the ruling Communist Party next month at which Xi is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as leader.
Sun was convicted by the court in the northeastern city of Changchun of collecting 646 million yuan ($91 million) in bribes, China Central TV reported on its website.
Sun was charged with using his official position in 2018 to manipulate stock trading to help a trader avoid losses. He also was accused of selling official jobs and abandoning his post during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Sun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Such penalties can be commuted to a prison term if the convict is deemed to have reformed. CCTV said if Sun’s death sentence is commuted, he would be sentenced to life without parole.
A former justice minister and a former ruling party official who were accused of colluding with Sun received similar penalties Thursday.
The former minister Fu Zhenghua pleaded guilty to taking bribes to help hide criminal activity. Earlier news reports accused him of joining “Sun Lijun's political gang.”
The party official Wang Like was charged with taking 440 million yuan ($62 million) in bribes to help with business deals or in securing loans and jobs. He was accused of offering 97 million yuan ($14 million) in bribes to Sun and other officials.
The ruling party’s anti-corruption agency accused Sun last year of having “extremely inflated political ambition.” It said he engaged in unspecified “superstitious activities.”
Earlier, Sun was named in a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department against Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn to compel Wynn to register as a foreign agent because of lobbying work it says he performed for the Chinese government.
The lawsuit says senior officials including Sun wanted Wynn’s help in trying to have a Chinese citizen’s visa application denied, according to the complaint. Beijing wanted the man, who was charged with corruption and asked for political asylum, returned to China.