Corrupt mayor gets maximum penalty

The former vice-mayor of Suzhou has been sentenced to death for accepting more than 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) in bribes between 2001 and 2004, the prosecutors in Nanjing said on Wednesday.

Jiang Renjie, a Hubei province native and former head of Suzhou's urban planning, construction, transportation, communications and housing, was prosecuted in March 2006.

A Nanjing court ruled the 60-year-old, who was also involved in the embezzlement of public funds, siphoned 109 million yuan, HK$50,000 and $4,000 from property developers and a scientific development company, the Nanjing Daily reported.

The Beijing-based Legal Daily reported in September that prosecutors also found millions of yuan in cash at his home, weighing 23 kg.

But prosecutors did not say when the verdict on Jiang was handed down.

During a press conference, the procurator also revealed the top 10 criminal cases, the most corrupt officials and the worst examples of dereliction of duty handled by the office in the past 30 years.

Jiang's abuses were ranked among the top 10 major cases, together with the murder of four Germans at a Mercedes Benz joint venture in Yangzhou in 2000 and a stowaway case involving 679 people in 2000.

Jiang, who appealed to a higher court after the sentence, was also president of Suzhou Urban Construction and Development Co and Suzhou highway construction chief.

The Nanjing intermediate people's court declined to comment yesterday.

A former middle school teacher, Jiang was linked to corruption allegations in 2004 and fired months later.

Statistics show that when he served as vice-mayor, Suzhou's investment in fixed assets and urban construction soared.

The city's investment in fixed assets exceeded 100 billion yuan in 2002, ranking only after Shanghai and Beijing in the country.

The figure soared to 140.9 billion yuan a year later, almost half of Suzhou's 280.2 billion yuan GDP.

In 2003, with Jiang at the helm, Suzhou poured 3.13 billion yuan into building highways.

Irregularities were also linked to a company owned by his son, Jiang Yi, called Forhigh Auction Co Ltd.

Evidence showed its registration was cancelled around the time Jiang was removed from office after it had auctioned off State-owned properties.
Questions:

1. Who was Jiang Renjie?

2. What did the court say about the case?

3. When was Jiang fired from his position?

Answers:

1. Former vice mayor of Suzhou and head of urban planning, construction, transportation, communications and housing in the city.

2. Nanjing intermediate people's court declined to comment.

3. Around 2004.