China: Another former minister sentenced to death for corruption with two-year reprieve

Sun Lijun, former Chinese vice minister of public security, was on Friday sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking more than 646 million yuan ($100 million) of bribes, manipulating the stock market, and illegally possessing firearms, according to the Intermediate People's Court of Changchun. The sentencing comes weeks ahead of a key Communist Party leadership congress. Some reports suggest that he was also accused of challenging President Xi Jinping’s authority.

His sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment once the two-year reprieve expires. There is no possibility of commutation or parole, according to the court ruling.

Also Read |Former Chinese justice minister Fu Zhenghua sentenced to death

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Sun was accused of committing massive corruption over two decades, as well as the charge of “endangering political security”, a reference to challenging Xi. Taking into consideration the confession to his crimes, voluntarily offering assistance on other cases and aiding authorities in recovering corrupt proceeds, the court issued a two-year reprieve, according to the ruling.

Earlier, former justice minister Fu Zhenghua was sentenced to life in prison. Accused of taking bribes and “bending the law for personal gains”, the 67-year-old spearheaded high-profile graft probes during his tenure. Xinhua news agency also reported that Fu was also been part of a "political gang" of Sun Lijun who himself colluded with some top law enforcement officials with the aim of personal enrichment.

(With inputs from agencies)