Former Chinese official gets death sentence for corruption

Beijing, Sept 24 : A former official of China's Ethnic Affairs Commission has been sentenced to death on corruption charges, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Du Maoji, the former Deputy Director of the General Office of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC), was sentenced to death for corruption with a two-year reprieve at the first trial, a state media report said.

The information was released by the Zhengzhou Railway Transportation Intermediate Court on Tuesday. Maoji was convicted for embezzlement, bribery and for illegally obtaining public funds.

According to the court, the total amount involved was as much as 25.92 million Yuan (nearly 3.8 million dollars). Du siphoned off 20.62 million Yuan for himself.

The court held that Maoji used his position to illegally obtain public funds through embezzlement and cheating and also took advantage of his post to help a construction company win a government bid.

ANI