China hands former security regulator anti-graft official suspended death sentence

BEIJING – A Chinese court on Oct 27 handed Wang Huimin, a former anti-graft official at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve over corruption and said Wang illegally accepted more than 436 million yuan (S$84 million).Wang accepted bribes in exchange for favours to companies and individuals, including help with business operations and fundraising, while holding a number of official posts in the north-western region of Xinjiang and at the national securities regulator from 1998 to 2025, state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing a first-instance judgement.The court said Wang’s “exceptionally large” bribes and the severe harm caused warranted the death penalty, but gave him a two-year reprieve because, among other considerations, some offences were only attempted, he voluntarily disclosed some facts not previously known to investigators and some illicit gains were recovered.He admitted guilt and expressed remorse in court, Xinhua said.The court also deprived him of political rights for life and ordered the confiscation of all his personal property.The suspended death sentence in Chinese law gives a convict a two-year reprieve from execution, after which the sentence is typically commuted to life imprisonment.The court said Wang would spend the rest of his life in prison, with no possibility of sentence reduction or parole. REUTERS