Chinese court sentences official to death for taking bribes
Yang Youlin, 69, was convicted by a court in Changzhou for bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering.
A former city official in eastern China has been sentenced to death after a court found him guilty of taking more than 2.2 billion yuan in bribes over three decades.
Yang Youlin, 69, was convicted by a court in Changzhou for bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering.
The amount involved is estimated at about $325 million, making it one of China’s largest corruption cases in recent years.
Yang served in various public positions in Nanjing from 1993 to 2023, mostly in areas linked to economic and technological development.
According to state media, he used his official positions to help individuals and companies secure engineering contracts, land transfers and financing.
In return, he received money and valuables.
The court said Yang’s offences were extremely serious and had caused heavy losses to the state and the public.
Although he reportedly assisted investigators by giving information on other offenders, the court held that the gravity of his crimes did not justify a lighter punishment.
State media said Yang pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in his final statement.
His conviction forms part of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted officials across sectors including the military, banking and local government.
Death sentences for white-collar crimes remain rare in China.
However, courts have imposed them in some high-value corruption cases involving sums above 1 billion yuan.
In 2021, former finance chief Lai Xiaomin was executed after being convicted of taking 1.8 billion yuan in bribes.
In 2024, former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed over corruption involving more than 3 billion yuan.
Other convicted officials have often received prison terms or suspended death sentences, which are usually commuted to life imprisonment after a period of time.
Yang’s case is the latest signal of the severe penalties Chinese courts may impose in major corruption cases involving huge sums of public money.
