China sentences former food safety chief to death

BEIJING, May 29 (Reuters) China sentenced Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, to death for corruption, state media reported today, in an unusually harsh sentence which could be reduced on appeal.

Zheng was convicted on charges of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.

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