File photo shows Lai Xiaomin, former board chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd., speaks at a session. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
Given the severity of his offences, the Supreme People's Court is convinced that Lai does not deserve a lenient sentence.
TIANJIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday executed a corrupt former state-owned financial firm executive in a case whose graft sum set a record in the history of the People's Republic of China.
Lai Xiaomin, who took a staggering sum of bribes totaling over 1.78 billion yuan (about 276 million U.S. dollars), was executed by the Second Municipal Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin after being approved by the top court.
Lai, former board chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd., was convicted of bribery, embezzlement, and bigamy on Jan. 5. He was sentenced to death, with political rights deprived for life and all his assets confiscated.
Lai appealed the sentences but his appeal was rejected by the Higher People's Court of Tianjin on Jan. 21.
Reviewing the case, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) held that the crimes committed by Lai were extremely serious in that the amount of Lai's bribes was particularly huge, the circumstance was particularly severe, noting that the crimes have had extremely adverse social influence, and caused a great loss to the interests of the state and the people.
Considering the serious circumstances of his case, Lai does not deserve a lenient sentence despite that he offered some leads regarding other crimes, according to the SPC.
The SPC approved the ruling of the Higher People's Court of Tianjin to uphold the death penalty of Lai during the first instance.
Lai was allowed to meet his next of kin before the execution.
Currently, most of Lai's illegal gains have been confiscated and either turned over to the state treasury or returned to their rightful owners.
Lai's sentence signifies China's unyielding attitude toward fighting against corruption, particularly in the financial sector. In 2019 alone, discipline inspection departments across the country filed and investigated more than 6,900 cases involving violations of the Party's disciplinary rules and laws in the financial system. ■
