Chinese vice mayor sentenced to death for taking bribes

The former vice mayor of a city in eastern China has been sentenced to death for taking more than 100 million yuan (14.6 million dollars) in bribes from property developers, state media said Thursday.

Jiang Renjie, the former vice mayor of Suzhou city, west of Shanghai, was sentenced to death for taking 108 million yuan in bribes from five property companies between 2001 and 2004, Xinhua news agency reported.

Jiang, 60, was also convicted by a court in neighbouring Nanjing for misappropriating public funds, it said, without giving the date of his trial.

The former vice mayor, who was placed under investigation in 2004, has appealed the sentence, it added.

Meanwhile a top parliamentarian dealing with state finances has also been placed under investigation for his role in a real estate scam, Xinhua said.

In China, all land belongs to the state, giving local leaders tremendous economic clout in divvying up land-use rights.

Zhu Zhigang, deputy head of the finance committee of China's parliament, was placed under investigation for helping close relatives buy property at discounted prices, Xinhua said.

Zhu, who holds a minister-level rank as a member of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, is also head of the parliament's budget committee, the report said.

Up to a dozen other people involved in Beijing real estate and accounting companies are believed to be implicated in the case, the report said, without offering further details.

Zhu, 58, served seven years as China's vice minister of finance and only took up his parliamentary duties this year, it said.