The former head of a publicly-owned Beijing construction giant
was sentenced to 13 years in jail for accepting bribes valued at
1.54 million yuan (205,000 U.S. dollars).
Nie Yuhe, former general manager of Beijing Urban and Rural
Construction Group, pleaded guilty to the corruption charges but
claimed he accepted the cash bribes as national holiday gifts
between 2001 and 2005 to "maintain good relations".
Niu, 53, told the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing
it was "common practice" in the construction industry to offer cash
or shopping vouchers as New Year gifts.
The "gifts" he received also included brand-name suits and
mobile phones.
Investigators found most of the bribers were the bosses of smaller
construction firms and had bribed their way into big contracts.
The largest bribe came from the manager of a construction firm
affiliated to Nie's group, who used 400,000 yuan (54,000 U.S.
dollars) of public funds to furnish Nie's home.
Nie gambled away most of his illicit income, the court
heard.
In 2002, he accompanied Zhao Fengyi, general manager of a
company affiliated to the group, and five colleagues to the
Republic of Korea. They blew one million yuan (125,000 U.S.
dollars) of embezzled company cash on luxuries and gambling during
the World Cup.
Zhao was convicted of the embezzlement in a separate trial and
is still awaiting sentencing for this crime.
China's construction sector is notorious for bribery,
under-the-table deals and payments in arrears. At least seven
executives of the Beijing construction giant are being investigated
for corruption.
(Xinhua News Agency, December 6, 2007)