Former senior provincial political advisor handed life sentence for bribery

NANCHANG, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — Zhu Congjiu, a former senior political advisor from east China’s Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to life in prison for bribery Tuesday.
Zhu has been deprived of political rights for life and all of his personal property will be confiscated, said the court ruling, adding that his illegal gains will be recovered and turned over to the state treasury.
The Ganzhou Intermediate People’s Court in east China’s Jiangxi Province, which handled the case, found that Zhu took advantage of his various posts from 2002 to 2022 to benefit organizations and individuals in matters such as company listings, financing loans and business operations. In return, he accepted bribes amounting to over 105 million yuan (about 14.5 million U.S. dollars), either directly or through intermediaries.
The court said that Zhu’s actions constituted the crime of accepting bribery, with the amount involved being extraordinarily large, warranting severe punishment according to the law.
After considering several mitigating factors, such as Zhu’s truthful confession after being taken into custody, his active return of illicit gains, and the fact that all illicit assets and proceeds have been fully recovered, the court has decided to give Zhu a lenient punishment and imposed the aforementioned sentence. ■