CHINA. RAILWAY ACCOUNTANT GETS DEATH FOR FRAUD

Zhang Ning, the former chief accountant of the Lanzhou Railway Bureau in western China, was sentenced to death for fraud after losing billions of yuan of public funds in failed investments, state media reported. In December, Zhang lost his appeal against a death sentence pronounced by a court in May 2006, at which eight other defendants were jailed for terms ranging from eight years to life. In May, Zhang was found guilty, independently or in collusion with "partners", of taking 23 million yuan in bribes or "assets solicited from others", it added. Zhang's death sentence requires final confirmation from China's Supreme Court.