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China executes official for bribery
WebPosted Sun Apr 23 17:59:14 2000

BEIJING - As part of an ongoing drive to rid itself of corruption, the Chinese government executed a former deputy mayor for bribery Sunday.

Li Chenglong, 48, a former vice-mayor of Guigang in the southern province of Guangxi, was executed after a court rejected his appeal.

Li was given the death sentence after he was convicted of accepting bribes in exchange for jobs and construction contracts, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The bribes totaled more than $475,000 US.

The execution follows a report in a Hong Kong newspaper that China is preparing to arrest a former vice-minister of public security for taking bribes and covering up smuggling.

The former security official, under investigation for 16 months, was thrown out of the Communist Party because of the accusations.

He was found to have been "deeply involved" in China's biggest smuggling scandal in five decades in the southeastern city of Xiamen.

Almost 200 people are being investigated in the three billion yuan ($362.3 million US) scandal.

Chinese President, Jiang Zemin

The case involves smuggling of firearms, cars and crude oil and involves top Xiamen police officers, senior bankers and customs agents, and the former wife of an ally of President Jiang Zemin in the powerful Politburo.

The former security official, who had admitted the crimes, was likely to get a death sentence as the government tried to stress that no one was above the law.

The reports have not been confirmed by Chinese officials.

China has recently intensified its crackdown on corruption, which Jiang has called a tumour threatening the party's grip on power.

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