In its final ruling the Higher People's Court of Zhejiang Province, east China, sentenced Xie Jianbang, former vice-mayor of Ningbo City, to a 15-year imprisonment for taking bribes.
Xie, who was also a former member of the Standing Committee of the Ningbo City Committee of the Communist Party of China, was also confiscated of 100,000 yuan worth of property, according to the court verdict.
The court found that Xie took bribes totaling 315,000 yuan, US$21, 000 and HK$110,000 during the period when he served as vice-mayor of Ningbo.
The court explained that due to the fact that all of Xie's illicit money has been confiscated and he is not chiefly responsible for related losses, Xie was given a 15-year imprisonment instead of the former ruling of the death penalty.
Xie was arrested for taking bribes by the Zhejiang Provincial Procuratorate in 1998. The Intermediate People's Court of Huzhou City sentenced Xie to death, with a two-year probation, at the first ruling on June 4, 1999.
(Xinhua 02/07/2001)
