Huang Xingguo, the former mayor and acting party secretary of Tianjin, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for bribery charges and a fine of 3 million yuan, according to a ruling by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People’s Court in Hebei province on September 25, Caixin reported.
The defendant, who had taken advantage of his position as a major official in Zhejiang province and Tianjin cities from 2004, including the party boss of Taizhou and Ningbo cities in Zhejiang province, and the deputy governor of Zhejiang, took an estimated amount of 40 million yuan (US$6 million) in bribes.
Wang Xinguang, one of the inspectors from the central disciplinary inspection group, said Huang failed to recognize the Communist Party’s and the central government’s major decisions, adding he “overtly agreed but covertly adapted” to its policies.
The inspection group also pointed out that it is not only about Huang, but the political ecosystem in Tianjin that is severely corrupted.
For that amount of bribe, he should have been handed the death penalty.