Yin Guoyuan, former deputy director of the Shanghai Housing, Land and Resources Administration Bureau, was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve for a host of crimes including bribe taking, according to local court ruling on Thursday.

The Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court heard that Yin accepted 35.55 million yuan (about 5.08 million U.S. dollars) of bribes during the 2000-2004 period, and failed to account for the sources of 3.97 million yuan and 47,852 U.S. dollars in his possession.

Yin accepted the bribes himself or with his wife Chen Wei, who got seven years' imprisonment, from real estate development companies in return for favorable treatment in land use applications.

Yin was also found to have stored 52 military-issue bullets in his home.

Born in 1944, Yin served in the land and resources administrative bureau from 1995 until he retired in 2005 and became chairman of the Shanghai Land Institute.

He was involved in Shanghai social security fund scandal which was exposed in 2006. The case involved 3.7 billion yuan (474 million U.S. dollars), most of which was misappropriated to invest in real estate, road and other projects.

Former Shanghai Party chief Chen Liangyu was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April for his involvement in the scandal. Thirteen officials, including Yin, were expelled from the Party and received various penalties for their roles in the case.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)