Former senior official sentenced to death in China

Beijing May 27 (IANS) A court in China s Henan province on Saturday sentenced Wu Changshun a former senior political advisor and deputy head of the public security bureau of Tianjin city to death with a two-year reprieve for graft.

Wu was also deprived of his political rights for life and all his personal assets were confiscated Xinhua news agency cited a court statement as saying.

The Zhengzhou court found Wu guilty of taking advantage of his various positions in Tianjin to seek benefits for entities and individuals while taking bribes of more than 84.4 million yuan ($12.3 million).

Wu was also found guilty of illegally possessing public assets worth 342 million yuan and causing a loss of 101 million yuan to public funds through his abuse of power the statement said.

The court showed leniency in the ruling taking into consideration his confession remorse and the fact that he voluntarily reported information on the crimes of others.

--IANS
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