CHINA: OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG SMUGGLING

Zheng Guoliang, former deputy to the Anhui Provincial People's Congress in east China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for drug smuggling and illegal gun possession, local sources confirmed. Zheng, 51, was arrested in May in Linquan county, Fuyang city in northwest Anhui as he attempted to conceal and smuggle 339.5 grams of heroin and 39.1 grams of morphine by mixing the drugs with tea. Police also seized a hunting rifle and four bullets in his home. The Fuyang Intermediate People's Court sentenced Zheng to death with a two-year reprieve and confiscated his illegal assets. Zheng Xuwen and Jiang Xiuying, accessories in the drug smuggling, were sentenced to life imprisonment and a seven-year jail term, respectively. Zheng Guoliang was a farmer in Yingxian township, Linquan county, who was elected deputy to the 10th Anhui Provincial People's Congress in 2003. He was expelled from the congress on June 29 this year.