Wednesday July 15, 06:00 AM
Suspended death penalty for Sinopec ex-chief
BEIJING (AFP) - The former head of Chinese oil giant Sinopec, Chen Tonghai, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in a corruption case involving millions of dollars, state press has reported.
A Beijing intermediate court handed down the sentence after finding Chen guilty of graft amounting to 195.7 million yuan (28.8 million dollars) when he served as a top Sinopec official from 1999 to 2007, the People's Daily said.
Chen was also convicted of illegally appropriating funds from projects and land transfers during the period when he served as assistant general manager, then general manager and chairman of the board of Sinopec, it said.
The two-year reprieve means that Chen's sentence will be commuted to life in prison if he commits no further crime while in jail.
"Chen Tonghai received large amounts of bribes, the circumstances of his crimes were very serious and warrant the death penalty," the report, citing the verdict said.
Chen, 60, also turned over to the state all of his gains from the graft, it added.
Because Chen helped investigators in the case, expressed remorse, and provided information on the crimes of other people linked to the case, the court issued the two-year reprieve, it said.
Officials at the Beijing intermediate court refused to comment immediately on the case when contacted by AFP.
According to earlier state press reports, Chen was placed under investigation in May 2007, then formally detained at Beijing airport while attempting to flee the country in June of that year.
According to state-run Caijing Magazine, Chen's father was Chen Weida, an influential Communist Party official and a former revolutionary.
China has struggled in recent years to rein in official corruption amid recurring revelations of graft in government ranks.
Last month, Pi Qiansheng, 58, a leading official in China's eastern metropolis of Tianjin was sacked for corruption and currently faces criminal charges linked to abuse of power, state media reported.
Sinopec is a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation, the largest oil refiner in Asia, and is China's second-largest oil company after PetroChina.
The state-controlled firm has listings on the Shanghai, Hong Kong and London stock exchanges.
In June, Sinopec agreed to purchase oil exploration firm Addax Petroleum (AXC.TO - news) for 7.2 billion dollars in the largest ever Chinese offshore acquisition, part of Chinese oil firms' aggressive overseas expansion in recent months.
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