Former Inner Mongolia legislator sentenced to death with reprieve

Wang Bo, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes exceeding 449 million yuan ($62.88 million), a court in Hubei province announced on Tuesday.

Wang was also deprived of his political rights for life, and all of his personal assets were confiscated, according to the ruling made by the Yichang Intermediate People's Court.

In China, if a prisoner who receives a suspended death sentence commits no new offenses during the probation period, his or her sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment. If the inmate behaves well, his or her prison term may have further commutation, or they may be eligible for parole.

However, in Wang's case, the court said that there will be no possibility of sentence reduction or parole, even if he behaves well, meaning he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

In addition, Wang's illicit gains and relevant interests have been ordered to be turned over to the state treasury, it added.

According to the court, from the first half of 2003 to May 2024, Wang used his work positions in Inner Mongolia to seek benefits for other individuals and departments in various matters, such as business operations, project contracting and job adjustments. In return, he accepted bribes worth more than 449 million yuan.

The court noted that Wang's activities constituted the crime of bribery, "and he should be sentenced to death, as the amount of his bribes was extremely large and the circumstance of his offense was extremely severe, bringing huge losses to the interest of the country and the people," it said.

"Considering that he confessed to the crime and voluntarily shared many bribery facts unknown to investigators and returned his illicit proceedings, we leniently punished him with a suspended death, but without further commutation or parole after being reduced to life imprisonment," it added.

Wang, 67, a native of Inner Mongolia, started his career in 1977 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1986. He served in various positions in the autonomous region for decades, including deputy mayor of Baotou and mayor of Hohhot.

He became vice-chairman of the standing committee of the regional people's congress, local top legislature, in early 2018.

In June 2024, he was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of the Party disciplines and national laws. Six months later, he was expelled from the CPC.

In April, he was indicted on the charge of bribery, and the court publicly heard the case in June.