CHINA: RAILWAY OFFICIAL GETS DEATH SENTENCE ON CORRUPTION CHARGES

a former Chinese railway official being tried on corruption charges was handed a death sentence by a Beijing court. However, the sentence will be commuted to life in prison if the accused completes two years of imprisonment with good behavior.
Wen Qingliang was sacked as head of the rail bureau in the city of Kunming in 2011 due to disciplinary issues, the usual reason cited for removing corrupt officials in China, a Reuters report said. Wen was found by the Beijing court to have taken more than 20 million yuan (3.3 million USD) in bribes between 2005 and 2011 while he was assigned to projects in the northern province of Shanxi “to provide favors to companies bidding on railway projects,” Xinhua news agency reported.