Party jails former oil executive for 20 years for corruption

A Chinese court has sentenced a former senior executive of a state oil company to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of corruption. The sentencing of Wang Yongchun, former deputy general manager of China National Petroleum Corp., came a day after the company’s former chairman, Jiang Jiemin, was given 16 years’ imprisonment for corruption. The Xiangyang Intermediate People’s Court in central China said Wang had received 49 million yuan (USD7.9 million) in bribes between 2000 and 2013 and failed to explain the source of another 42 million yuan. It said Wang — at Jiang’s direction — provided assistance to others, causing huge losses to the state. China’s oil industry has been targeted in a sweeping anti-graft campaign that has toppled many high-ranking officials of state companies.

Mainland tourist dies while zip-lining in Thailand

A Chinese tourist broke her neck and died while sliding on a zip-line in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, police said yesterday. The 32-year-old woman was sliding down a 600-meter zip-line on Sunday when a worker failed to grab her during a maneuver to stop her from traveling further, police Col. Adun Somnuk said. She then hit another person in front, he said. The staff rushed her to a hospital where they told doctors only that she had passed out while zip-lining, Adun told The Associated Press. But an autopsy later showed the woman, who was a doctor, had suffered a broken neck, he said. Officers sent to inspect the zip-line operation are questioning the staff and witnesses, he said, adding that the staff could be charged with causing death by negligence if there is enough evidence. Two other zip-line accidents have occurred in Chiang Mai this year. In July, an American tourist broke several ribs after colliding with a Chinese tourist on a zip line. In June, a Chinese tourist fell to his death while sliding through a zip line due to a safety lock malfunction.