Xing Xiaoming, a former official of the finance department under
China's Ministry of Finance, has been sentenced to nine years in
prison for taking bribes, the Beijing Times reports.
Xing is the third official from the department to be sentenced
for corruption after Xu Fangming, department head, and Wang Rui,
Xing's deputy.
Xing was accused of accepting bribes by taking advantage of the
department's power to approve loans and helping companies seek
gains.
The Beijing Xicheng District People's Court said Xing took more
than US$90,000 in bribes between 1999 and 2005, and he could not
account for another US$200,000, according to the newspaper.
Xing's boss Xu Fangming was sentenced to life imprisonment last
September for obtaining more than 2.14 million yuan (about
US$267,500) in bribes, while Xing's assistant Wang Rui was
sentenced to ten years in prison.
As China intensifies anti-corruption efforts, a quite few
high-ranking government officials have been brought to justice for
corruption.
Among them are Zhang Enzhao, former president of the China
Construction Bank, and Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of drug watchdog.
Zheng's case is still under investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)