The Changchun City Court sentenced former Chinese Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua, who was found guilty of corruption, to death with a two-year suspension of execution and a subsequent commutation to life imprisonment. According to BBC, in June the 67-year-old ex-minister confessed to taking bribes worth more than 117 million yuan ($16.50 million). The court also ruled to deprive the ex-minister of all political rights for life and confiscate all his property.
Fu Zhenghua climbed the party ladder from a simple policeman, first to the Deputy Minister of State Security of the PRC, and then to the Minister of Justice. Under his leadership, there were several high-profile investigations against corrupt officials, including investigation against the former Minister of Public Security of China, Zhou Yongkang. He was sentenced for corruption and abuse of power to life imprisonment.
But in October 2021, an investigation was also announced against Fu Zhenghua himself – in connection with “serious violations of discipline and national laws.” In March of this year, he was expelled from the party, and in April he was arrested on charges of corruption. According to the prosecutor’s office, Fu Zhenghua used his official position all the time from 2005 to 2021, when he held high positions. According to law enforcement agencies, he was also an associate of the former Vice Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Sun Lijun, who was also under investigation on charges of corruption in April 2020 and is now awaiting sentencing. At the beginning of this year, Sun Lijun publicly admitted that he colluded with representatives of the leadership of law enforcement agencies for the purpose of personal enrichment.