A local court on Saturday gave Wang Zheng, the former deputy head of Yuzhong District of southwest China's vast Chongqing Municipality, a death sentence with a two-year suspension for having accepted bribes.

 

The No. 5 Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing also deprived Wang of his political rights and confiscated his personal assets.

 

The court found that Wang had accepted bribes in various forms that totaled about 9.66 million yuan (1.32 million U.S. dollars), when he was in charge of the planning department of Shangpingba District and served as deputy head of Yuzhong District from 1999 to June 2007.

 

The court said the bribes came from real estate developers who intended to gain favors in land acquisitions and construction project contractors.

 

Wang was given a suspended death sentence because he showed remorse and admitted his crimes, according to the court.

 

The court also handed down rulings on Saturday involving Zheng Wei, the former head of the Yuzhong District Commission of Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, and Chen Ming, the former deputy head of Shapingba District.

 

Zheng and Chen were given 13- and 10-year jail terms, respectively. Both accepted bribes from land developers at different times, the court said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2007)