Beijing, May 8: A Chinese military court has sentenced two former defence ministers to suspended death penalties after convicting them on corruption charges, another dramatic chapter in Beijing’s endless anti-graft purge. The machinery never sleeps. It just occasionally eats generals instead of bureaucrats.
Wei Fenghe, who served as China’s defence minister from 2018 to 2023, and his successor Li Shangfu, who held the post briefly in 2023, were found guilty on Thursday of accepting bribes. Authorities said Li was also convicted of offering bribes.
The court handed both men death sentences with a two-year reprieve, meaning the executions will be suspended for two years. The ruling also stated that neither would be eligible for parole.
In China, such sentences are commonly commuted to life imprisonment after the suspension period.
According to China’s state-run news agency Xinhua News Agency, both former ministers have been stripped of their political rights for life, and all of their personal assets will be confiscated.
Li Shangfu, once considered close to Chinese President Xi Jinping, disappeared from public view in 2023 shortly after taking office, along with several other senior military officials.
Since Xi launched his sweeping anti-corruption campaign after coming to power in 2012, millions of officials have reportedly faced disciplinary action. Various reports have also claimed that some high-ranking officials died while in custody.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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