Sentence upheld for graft in electoral fraud

Hunan Higher People's Court upheld, in a second trial, the original judgment of three years in prison for a senior official charged with dereliction of duty.

Hunan election fraud a harsh lesson: legislature

Xiao Bin, a member of the standing committee of the municipal Party and head of the municipal discipline inspection commission of Hengyang, in Central China's Hunan province, was accused of being involved in the biggest electoral fraud in China, the Hunan Daily reported on Thursday.

The court considered Xiao, as the person directly accountable for supervision in a local election, irresponsible for failing to fulfill his duties, according to the report.

In second trials of 10 others who appealed initial judgments, sentences for 9 were upheld while the other defendant was awarded a lenient sentence for his confession and contribution to the trial.

Preliminary investigations showed that 56 lawmakers from Hengyang bribed 518 fellow municipal lawmakers and 68 staff in the election of deputies to Hunan Provincial People's Congress, a regional legislative body. The sum involved exceeded 110 million yuan ($18.14 million).