CHINA: OFFICIAL HANDED DEATH SENTENCE

an official in Chongqing Municipality in China was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million) in bribes. Liang Xiaoqi, vice director of Chongqing's urban planning bureau, was found guilty of seeking huge profits for developers by taking advantage of his position from July 1999 to March 2008 and accepting 88 bribes during that time, Chongqing No.1 Intermediate People's Court ruled, according to Chongqing-based Cqnews.net. The court ruled Liang, Chongqing's former top planner and chairman of the government-backed development agency of the city's central business district, allowed developers to build in prohibited areas or amended government plans for developers. In exchange, he received gifts including cash, luxury watches, free shopping cards and a discounted apartment.