Bai Zhiming, former deputy secretary-general of the CPC's Inner Mongolia

Bai Zhiming, former deputy secretary-general of the CPC's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Committee, in China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption. Bai was convicted of accepting 10.4 million yuan ($1.7 million) in bribes, according to a verdict handed down by the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Chifeng. Bai helped both companies and individuals, including a property developer, a construction contractor and a building materials company, win contracts and obtain land and low-interest loans after taking bribes from them, the court found. The 57-year-old was also convicted of possessing public assets worth 4.9 million yuan as well as 6 million yuan in funds from sources that could not be identified. The Court also ordered the confiscation of all of his personal assets and stripped him of political rights for life. Bai said he would appeal the verdict.