Chen Shuangquan, former board chairman of a freeway...

Chen Shuangquan, former board chairman of a freeway construction company in Shaanxi, was sentenced to death for accepting more than 17 million yuan (US$2.5 million) in bribes. It is the biggest bribery case in Shaanxi Province since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Sanqin Daily reported. The court said Chen accepted bribes from project bidders when in charge of construction for Huangling-Yan'an freeway, Xi'an-Hanzhong freeway, and an airport highway in Xianyang City. The court's investigation found Chen had taken more than 17 million yuan in bribes since he was elected president and Party chief of the Shaanxi Provincial Expressway Construction Group in 2001. Chen was given two years probation because he confessed to police. His family returned part of the bribe money after he was caught, the report said. The Shaanxi government began investigating Chen in June 2007.