A Beijing court handed down a suspended death sentence to former
drug registration official Cao Wenzhuang on Friday, on the heels of
the death sentence received by former head of China's drug watchdog
Zheng Xiaoyu.
Cao was found guilty of taking bribes and of dereliction of duty
by the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
He was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on the graft
charge with an additional seven years in prison meted out for the
dereliction of duty. The verdict also stipulated that all his
personal belongings would be confiscated and stripped him of his
political rights for life.
The court heard that Cao had accepted over 2.4 million yuan
(about US$315,700) in bribes.
The court said Cao gave preferential treatment for two
pharmaceutical companies by signing off on their drugs and medical
instruments when he was head of the State Food and Drug
Administration's department of drug registration from 2003 to
2005.?
(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2007)