Chinese health official linked to fined British drugmaker GSK is jailed for 19 years over bribes
Huang Fengping, former deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, found with more than 400 envelopes full of cash at his home, as well as gold bars in his car.
A Chinese court has jailed a Shanghai health official, whose case was previously linked to British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, for accepting bribes and embezzling more than 4.4 million yuan (about HK$5.5 million), state media said.
Huang Fengping, former deputy director for the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, was sentenced to 19 years in prison yesterday by the Shanghai Number One Intermediate People’s Court, the new agency Xinhua said.
Media reports previously linked his case to British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, which China fined 3 billion yuan last year for giving bribes, but the Shanghai court made no public mention of GSK.
Huang had accepted more than 3 million yuan in bribes and embezzled more than 1.4 million yuan, Xinhua said, adding that he had been unable to account for 11 million yuan in assets.
China’s healthcare sector is widely considered to be riddled with graft, partly the result of an opaque tendering system for drugs, and also due to the low salaries of doctors.
The Shanghai Daily newspaper said Huang was found to have more than 400 envelopes stuffed with cash at his home, as well as gold bars and foreign currency in the boot of his car.