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China ex-rail minister given suspended death sentence**
A Chinese court has given former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun a suspended death sentence for corruption and abuse of power, state media report.
Liu was accused of accepting bribes totalling more than 64m yuan ($10m; £6m) over 25 years.
Prosecutors said he awarded government rail contracts in return for bribes.
Liu is the most high-profile official to be tried and found guilty of corruption since Xi Jinping became China’s leader earlier this year.
China’s railways ministry, once a powerful department, was disbanded in March.
It had been criticised for a series of safety scandals, and faced allegations of fraud which were uncovered by government audits.
‘Malpractice’
Liu was convicted by a court in the capital Beijing on Monday, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
He was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, deprived of his political rights for life and jailed for 10 years, Xinhua said, quoting the court verdict. His personal property will also be confiscated.
Despite his sentence, he is not expected to face the death penalty - suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment in China.
Liu was suspended from the Communist Party last May, following allegations that he embezzled funds and received bribes when handing out contracts for China’s high-speed rail project.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that he had helped 11 people win contracts and promotions in return for bribes.
The indictment reportedly said that Liu’s “malpractice” led to “huge losses of public assets and damage to the interests of the state and people”.
Full Report
Not just do business with China, also learn their way of governance which will be a huge service to Pakistan, and that does not need even an MoU or a multi-billion dollar contract.
But here in our beloved country, instead of shivering in fear for his wrongdoings, our ex-railway minister who lost his home constituency by a huge margin to an outsider barely two months ago, is ready to run again in by-election. What a pity!
