Ex-Sinopec Chief Spared Execution, For Now

飞雪寒冰

A Beijing court has issued a suspended death sentence to a former chairman of state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), Chen Tonghai, who was convicted for accepting more than 195 million yuan in bribes.

The July 15 decision by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court came nearly two years after Chen, 61, was suddenly removed as head of the nation's second-largest oil company.

飞雪寒冰

Ex-Sinopec Chief Spared Execution, For Now

飞雪寒冰

The court ruled that the vast extent of the bribery warranted capital punishment for Chen. But the death sentence was handed down with a two-year reprieve.

Chen received leniency after confessing, apologizing, tipping authorities to other alleged criminals, and returning all the money he received in bribes.

Those who bribed Chen allegedly included companies that did business with Sinopec, including contractors, or who sought to buy land from Sinopec at low prices. Names of the alleged bribers have not been released by authorities pending the outcome of a continuing investigation.

A veteran oil executive who studied petroleum engineering and managed a refinery in eastern China in the early 1980s, Chen headed Sinopec from 2003 until being detained in a corruption probe in 2007.

Charges of bribery and abuse of power against Chen were announced in January 2008 on the Web site of The People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper. Authorities said he traded bribes for favors and spent huge amount of the money in connection with his mistress.

飞雪寒冰

Chen also held political offices. He was appointed deputy mayor of the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province in 1989, and served as mayor from 1992-'94. He served as a vice minister of the central government's State Planning Commission, the forerunner of the National Development and Reform Commission, from 1994-'98.

Chen was dismissed as Sinopec Group's general manager and party committee member in June 2007. That same day, Sinopec announced Chen had resigned as chairman.

Three months later, during the 17th Communist Party National Congress, Chen's detention was formally announced by Li Rongrong, chairman of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. He said Chen was under investigation, but did not give a reason.