Former Chinese official Gou Zhongwen stands trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Yancheng in East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Screen grab of CCTV News

 
Gou Zhongwen, a former member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former deputy head of the Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes and abusing power, according to CCTV News on Monday.

The verdict was announced by the Intermediate People's Court of Yancheng in East China's Jiangsu Province. Gou was deprived of political rights for life, and had all personal property confiscated.

After the two-year reprieve period and the sentence is legally commuted to life imprisonment, Gou shall be subjected to lifelong imprisonment without commutation or parole. 

Through trial, it was found that from 2009 to 2024, Gou took advantage of his positions as vice mayor of Beijing municipal government, member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC), deputy secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC, and the head of the General Administration of Sport of China, to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in matters such as business operations and project approvals. He illegally accepted assets and property equivalent to over 236 million yuan ($33.4 million). From 2012 to 2013, while serving as vice mayor of Beijing, Gou abused his power during the acquisition of related projects, causing significant losses to public property, as well as the interests of the state and the people.

The Intermediate People's Court of Yancheng believes that Gou committed the crimes of bribery and abuse of power. The amount of bribes he accepted was extraordinarily large, the circumstances of the crime were extremely serious, the social impact was especially vile, and his actions caused exceptionally severe losses to the interests of the state and the people. According to the law, he should be sentenced to death for his crimes. For abusing his power, which caused significant losses to public property as well as to the interests of the state and the people, and given the particularly grave circumstances, he should also be punished in accordance with the law, with the sentences for multiple offenses to be combined.

Considering that some of Gou's bribery offenses were attempted, that he truthfully confessed his crimes after being brought to justice, voluntarily disclosed some bribery facts not yet known to the investigative authorities, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, actively returned illicit gains, and that all bribes, illicit assets, and proceeds had been recovered, the death penalty for his bribery crimes will not be executed immediately. Based on the facts and circumstances of Gou's crimes, it was decided that after the two-year reprieve period expires and the sentence is legally commuted to life imprisonment, he shall be subjected to lifelong imprisonment without commutation or parole. 

Global Times