Legal Perspective | First Instance Death Sentence for 1.1 Billion Yuan Bribery: Should the Corrupt Official Be Executed? (AI Translation)

法眼｜受贿11亿一审获死刑 巨贪该不该杀？

The Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings Ltd., to death for accepting bribes amounting to over 1.1 billion yuan. Bai was also stripped of his political rights for life and his personal assets were confiscated. The assets earned through bribery are to be recovered and handed over to the state treasury [para. 1]. Four officials, including Bai, have been sentenced to death in the first instance for massive corruption since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party [para. 2].

Bai Tianhui’s corrupt activities, conducted while holding various senior positions between 2014 and 2018, involved assisting entities in project acquisitions and corporate financing in exchange for bribes totalling more than 1.108 billion yuan [para. 4]. Despite Bai’s cooperation with law enforcement and providing critical cues to other cases, the negative social and state impact of his actions led the court to deem the death penalty appropriate [para. 5].

The first major corrupt official sentenced to death after the 18th National Congress was Zhang Zhongsheng, former deputy mayor of Lüliang, Shanxi. Zhang provided assistance in coal resource integration and project approvals, receiving over 1.04 billion yuan in bribes from 1997 to 2013. His death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment due to his significant meritorious service [para. 8][para. 11].

Lai Xiaomin, another high-profile case, was sentenced to death for accepting bribes exceeding 1.788 billion yuan, among other crimes. Despite his contributions to solving other cases, Lai's sentence wasn’t reduced due to the severity of his crimes. Lai was executed in January 2021 [para. 12][para. 14][para. 17].

Li Jianping holds the record for the highest amount of embezzlement, exceeding 3 billion yuan along with other corrupt activities. He was sentenced to death for embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and sheltering a criminal syndicate. Li’s appeal is still pending [para. 18][para. 21].

Zhao Liping, former Vice Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was executed in 2017 for intentional homicide, bribery, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and illegal storage of explosives [para. 22][para. 23][para. 24].

The death penalty for corruption evokes significant controversy in the legal community. Many legal scholars and professionals in China advocate for the abolition of the death penalty for non-violent economic crimes, arguing that it does not correspond to the gravity of such offenses, which mainly result in economic rather than physical harm [para. 27][para. 28][para. 29]. Nonetheless, voices in support of retaining the death penalty argue that corruption and bribery can cause severe social harm and even loss of life, justifying the harsh punishment [para. 30].

Since 2012, immediate execution for corruption and bribery crimes has been rare. Typically, offenders are given suspended death sentences, which can be commuted to life imprisonment. Legal amendments and trends increasingly limit the death penalty's application for economic crimes while emphasizing severe punishment for the worst offenders [para. 31][para. 32][para. 34].

In response to the broader discourse on the death penalty, recent legal reforms have incorporated stringent measures like life imprisonment without parole for severe corruption offenses, balancing between leniency and severity [para. 35][para. 36]. Thus, while the death penalty remains a possible punishment for serious corruption, its application continues to undergo reforms aimed at reducing its frequency.