JURIST - Paper Chase: China ex-prosecutor gets suspended death sentence for taking bribes

[JURIST] A Chinese court has sentenced former prosecutor Li Baojin to death after convicting him Wednesday of accepting bribes and embezzling money. Li was found guilty of accepting $760,000 in bribes over a 10-year period while he worked as chief prosecutor and deputy police chief in Tianjin, as well as embezzling $1.9 million from the prosecutor's office. A court official, speaking anonymously, said that the death sentence will be suspended for two years, after which the sentence could be commuted to life in prison if Li demonstrates good behavior.

China has taken a hard line on corruption in recent months, punishing several officials with lengthy prison terms and the death penalty [JURIST report]. In September, a former official of the Agricultural Bank of China was executed [JURIST report] for taking bribes and embezzling nearly $2 million. In July, the former commissioner of China's State Food and Drug Administration was executed for accepting $850,000 in bribes [JURIST report]. AP has more.

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