Two men were sentenced to death by a Beijing intermediate...

Two men were sentenced to death by a Beijing intermediate court for fraud involving the buying and selling of value-added tax (VAT) vouchers that were eventually used in writing off some 393 million (47 million dollars) in taxes, state press said.
Chen Xuejun, 30, was convicted of illegally buying and selling blank vouchers that eventually found their way to companies throughout China from March 2000 until his arrest in February 2001, the Beijing Evening News said.
He was also convicted of paying Wu Zhigang, 29, an office worker at Beijing's Haidian District Tax Bureau, 200,000 yuan for some 4,000 VAT vouchers in September 2000, the report said.
Wu was also sentenced to death in the case, while 10 others linked to the case were earlier sentenced to jail terms, including life in prison and the death penalty with a two year reprieve.
During the investigation Wu was also unable to explain the source of 3.8 million yuan in his bank account.