Ex-cadre jailed after years of corruption
A Guangzhou court sentenced former Maoming deputy mayor Yang Guangliang to 19 years behind bars for taking millions of yuan in bribes and not being able to account for property valued at more than 34 million yuan (HK$41.4 million).
The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court found that Yang, 57, took 10.48 million yuan and HK$2 million in bribes between 1992 and 2009 when he rose from deputy magistrate of Dianbai county to vice-mayor of Maoming, the Southern Daily reported yesterday. The court said Yang could not explain the source of around 34 million yuan and Euro24,000 (HK$243,400).
Yang was put under investigation by the Guangdong party disciplinary committee before he could pocket his biggest bribe - 5 million yuan from an investment company for help securing land-use rights. That was to be on top of 500,000 yuan in Lunar New Year 'gifts' and home renovations, the report said.
Yang also bought two villas from another real estate company at well below the going market rate and took money from hotels and restaurants between 2006 and 2009 for organising government functions at the venues and arranging for some government charges to be partially or completely waived.
Yang's history of huge illicit gains dated back to 1992 and 1993 when, as Dianbai county's deputy magistrate, Yang took 220,000 yuan in 17 lots from a building company to help secure land-use rights.
He is one of a group of Maoming officials who have stepped down since late 2009 over graft claims.
10m
The amount of cash, in yuan, found at the home and office of former Maoming Communist Party boss Luo Yinguo during a raid in February
