A former senior housing administrator in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province, was yesterday sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being found guilty of taking bribes worth almost 124 million yuan (US$20.2 million).

Zhang Xin stands in the dock at the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. — Xinhua

Zhang Xin, the former deputy director of the Hangzhou Housing Security and Management Bureau, abused his powers and caused losses to the state of 89 million yuan, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court said.

The court said Zhang also worked with an associate — named as Dong Yilin though no other details were given — to siphon off more than 10.5 million yuan of public assets. The disgraced official was also found guilty of embezzling more than 30,000 yuan of state funds, China News Service reported.

Investigations into Zhang's activities began in December 2012 when he was taken in for questioning by Party disciplinary investigators.

Zhang, who at the time was also section head of the Hangzhou Urban-Rural Development Commission, was suspected of owning more than 20 properties worth hundreds of millions of yuan. Many of the properties were given to him as gifts by real estate developers, Internet users claimed.

Zhang stood trial on November 20 last year. In court, prosecutors said he sought benefits for others, in return for which he asked for and received cash and goods worth more than 124 million yuan. His crimes dated back to December 1997, the court heard.

In one case, Zhang was paid a bribe in return for awarding an affordable housing construction project to a development company he knew was not suitably qualified.

Zhang's case is similar to that of Cai Bin, an urban management official in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, who was found to own more than 20 houses.

In September of last year, he was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison for taking bribes totaling 2.75 million yuan between 1993 and 2012.



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