July 7 (UPI) -- A Chinese court has sentenced a former executive deputy director of a government management committee to death for taking bribes worth more than $323.7 million in property over a 30-year period.
Yang Youlin, the 69-year-old former executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee, was sentenced by the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court over the scheme on Monday, the court said in a statement. All his personal property was also confiscated.
The court said he illegally accepted the bribes from corporations and individuals whom he helped "in matters including undertaking projects, business operations, land transfers and capital turnover" from 1993 through 2023.
He also received a number of sentences ranging from six months to 11 years and six months, along with fines, on related charges, including embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power and money laundering.
Yang was sentenced after public hearings held March 18 and April 28, during which prosecutors presented evidence, and Yang's defense cross-examined evidence. According to the court, Yang made a final statement in which he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse over his actions.
