allesennogwat
05-28-2007, 10:52 PM
A Beijing court sentenced the head of China's food and drug administration to death Tuesday on corruption charges, state media reported.
Zheng Xiaoyu, the director of China's State Food and Drug Administration, was convicted for taking bribes and dereliction of duty, the Xinhua news agency said.
The sentence was handed down at the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, Xinhua said in a brief dispatch.
Zheng, 62, was removed from his post in June 2005. An official investigation that concluded last month accused him of accepting more than five million yuan (650,000 dollars) in bribes to grant approvals on hundreds of medicines.
His sentencing comes amid growing concerns about the safety of Chinese food products, also an area that he was responsible for in his powerful position.
Zheng's former secretary Cao Wenzhuang, who is accused of accepting bribes totalling two million yuan, was facing trial along with Zheng, the China Daily said earlier.
Earlier reports also said 31 other people are alleged to have been involved in the scandal, including Zheng's wife Liu Naixue, his son Zheng Hairong, and officials at several drug companies.
One firm named in the investigation, Kongliyuan Group, is alleged to have given Zheng bribes in return for approvals for 277 medicines, most of them high-profit antibiotics, according to previous reports.
Official corruption has become a serious problem as China has opened its economy and the government has launched several high-profile crackdowns over the years.
Zheng Xiaoyu, the director of China's State Food and Drug Administration, was convicted for taking bribes and dereliction of duty, the Xinhua news agency said.
The sentence was handed down at the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, Xinhua said in a brief dispatch.
Zheng, 62, was removed from his post in June 2005. An official investigation that concluded last month accused him of accepting more than five million yuan (650,000 dollars) in bribes to grant approvals on hundreds of medicines.
His sentencing comes amid growing concerns about the safety of Chinese food products, also an area that he was responsible for in his powerful position.
Zheng's former secretary Cao Wenzhuang, who is accused of accepting bribes totalling two million yuan, was facing trial along with Zheng, the China Daily said earlier.
Earlier reports also said 31 other people are alleged to have been involved in the scandal, including Zheng's wife Liu Naixue, his son Zheng Hairong, and officials at several drug companies.
One firm named in the investigation, Kongliyuan Group, is alleged to have given Zheng bribes in return for approvals for 277 medicines, most of them high-profit antibiotics, according to previous reports.
Official corruption has become a serious problem as China has opened its economy and the government has launched several high-profile crackdowns over the years.