(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-10 07:06

SHIJIAZHUANG: Two bank workers were sentenced to death yesterday for China's largest ever bank theft, involving 50.95 million yuan ($6.7 million), in northern Hebei Province.

Ren Xiaofeng, 34, and Ma Xiangjing, 37, who worked as vault managers at the Handan branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), were convicted of theft and given death penalties at the Handan Intermediate People's Court after first-instance hearings.

Zhao Xuenan and Zhang Qiang, who joined Ren in embezzling 200,000 yuan in October last year, were sentenced to five years and two years in prison, respectively, with a two-year reprieve.

Song Changhai was jailed for three years for harboring Ma when he was on the run.

Ren, Ma and Zhao planned to appeal, according to a court spokesman.

The court heard that in October last year, Ren conspired with Zhao and Zhang, both employed to watch the vault, to embezzle 200,000 yuan.

The money was spent on lotteries, but Ren later replaced the missing fund after he won a lottery prize, the court was told.

From March 16 to April 14 this year, Ren collaborated with Ma, who replaced Zhang as a bank employee, and stole 50.95 million yuan in cash. On April 14, the two stole 18 million yuan.

The theft was reported to police on April 16 by branch managers after they found millions of yuan had gone missing.

The Ministry of Public Security placed Ren and Ma on its most-wanted list.

Police arrested Ma in Beijing on April 18, and Ren in a rented house in Lianyungang, a coastal city in the eastern Jiangsu Province a day later.

Police said they retrieved about 5.50 million yuan, but found that about 45.35 million yuan had been squandered on the lottery.

Five bank officials, including Deng Zhenguo, vice-president of ABC's Hebei Province branch, and four officials in ABC's branch in Handan, have been sacked.

Xinhua

(China Daily 08/10/2007 page5)