CHINA. LEGISLATOR GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR FRAUD, RAPE

Sang Yuechun, a former Chinese legislator, was condemned to death for a range of crimes including embezzling public funds, defrauding banks and rape, after a court rejected his appeal.
Sang, a former deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, was originally sentenced to death in April for crimes that also included the illegal possession of guns and running criminal gangs. The court also ruled that Sang's personal assets would be confiscated and his political rights suspended.
State media earlier said Sang used his status as a national legislator to misappropriate 130 million yuan (16 million dollars) of public funds and assets and colluded with others to defraud bank loans of more than 34 million yuan between 1993 and 2002. Sang, 43, was the general manager of the Changchun Jigang Industrial and Trade Corp. and president of the Changchun Jigang Group Company before his arrest in late 2002.