Former legislator sentenced for bribery

Wang Bo, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes exceeding 449 million yuan ($62 million), a court in Hubei province announced on Tuesday.

Wang was also deprived of his political rights for life, and all of his personal assets were confiscated, according to a ruling made by the Yichang Intermediate People's Court.

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison if the criminal commits no new offenses during the two-year probation period. The sentence can be further reduced for good behavior.

However, in Wang's case, the court said that there would be no possibility of a sentence reduction or parole, even if he behaves well. This means Wang will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Additionally, his illicit gains and relevant interests were ordered to be turned over to the State treasury, it added.

According to the court, from the first half of 2003 to May 2024, Wang, 67, used the positions he held in Inner Mongolia to seek benefits for other individuals and departments in various matters, including business operations, project contracting and job adjustments. In return, he accepted bribes worth more than 449 million yuan.

The court noted that Wang's activities constituted the crime of bribery, "and he should be sentenced to death, as the amount of his bribes was extremely large and the circumstances of his offense were extremely severe, bringing huge losses to the interests of the country and the people," it said.

"Considering that he confessed to the crime, voluntarily shared many bribery facts unknown to investigators and returned his illicit proceeds, we leniently punished him with a suspended death (sentence), but without further commutation or parole after being reduced to life imprisonment," it added.

A native of Inner Mongolia, Wang started his career in 1977 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1986. For decades he served in various positions in the region, including as mayor of Hohhot, the regional capital, and as deputy mayor of Baotou. He became vice-chairman of the standing committee of the regional people's congress, the local top legislature, in early 2018.