Former Agriculture Minister Of China Sentenced To Death For Accepting Bribes

Beijing: Tang Renjian, the former agriculture minister of China was sentenced to death on Sunday for accepting bribes amounting to USD 38 million. He was granted a two-year reprieve by the court for cooperating during the trial.

Tang, who was also a former secretary of the agricultural ministry’s leading communist party members’ group, has been deprived of his political rights for life, the Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun in northeast China’s Jilin Province said in its judgment, as reported by Xinhua.

All of Tang’s personal property will be confiscated and his illegal gains from bribery recovered and turned over to the national treasury, the court said.

According to the court, Tang took undue advantage of his various positions at both central and local levels to assist others in matters such as business operation, project contracting and job adjustment between 2007 and 2024.

In return, he accepted money and valuables totaling over 268 million yuan (nearly USD 38 million), it was reported. Tang is reported to have pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in his final statement.

The Changchun court ruled that Tang’s offenses, which inflicted severe damage on the interests of the state and the people, warranted the death penalty.

However, considering his cooperation in confessing to his crimes, returning illicit gains, and other mitigating factors, the court granted Tang leniency in its final judgment.

The case was heard at the court on July 25. During the trial, prosecutors, the defendant and his defence counsel cross-examined the evidence and gave their respective accounts, Xinhua reported.

Nearly a million Chinese officials have been punished or disciplined in the massive anti-corruption campaign carried out by the Communist Party of China (CPC) after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. This includes dozens of top military officials.