Former security chief Zhou Yongkang sentenced to life for corruption 

In this May 4, 2012 file photo, Zhou Yongkang, then Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee member in charge of security, attends a conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

China’s former security chief was sentenced yesterday to life in prison on corruption charges, in a victory for President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign seen as further cementing his authority by removing a potential challenger.
Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, is the biggest target to fall in Xi’s drive to end the longstanding culture of bribe taking and influence peddling among officials.
The First Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin said Zhou was sentenced after being tried May 22 on charges of receiving bribes, abuse of power and leaking state secrets. The trial was held behind closed doors because of the final charge.
Zhou was sentenced to lesser terms on the abuse of power and state secrets charges, and was ordered to serve his sentences concurrently.
The sentence also mandates the seizure of all of Zhou’s personal assets.
According to the court, Zhou received, directly and indirectly, a total of 130 million yuan (USD21 million) in bribes and used his influence to allow others to realize 2.1 billion ($343 million) in profits on business dealings that caused 1.4 billion ($229 million) in losses for the state treasury — presumably through the sale of government assets at below cost.
Zhou’s actions “inflicted enormous damage to public finances and the interests of the nation and the people,” the court said in an explanation of the verdict on its website. China frequently moves sensitive trials to other jurisdictions to avoid witness tampering and other potential problems.
The court said Zhou had accepted its decision and would not file an appeal. While the charges potentially mandated a death sentence, it said Zhou received leniency after confessing and showing repentance and ordering his relatives to hand over the majority of their ill-gotten gains.
While the charges of abuse of power and leaking state secrets were serious, they had not resulted in any major consequences, the court said. AP