Whistle blowing, confessions and showing remorse ... how China’s corrupt officials try to get lighter sentences
Lawyer known for defending fallen ‘tigers’ advises his clients to come clean
Corrupt Chinese officials may earn lighter sentences by blowing the whistle on fellow officials, confessing to their crimes or even crying and wailing in court, a criminal defence lawyer known for representing disgraced senior officials has revealed.
Xu Lanting, who represented former presidential aide Ling Jihua, said in an interview with the Beijing Times that fallen officials often exposed the crimes of fellow officials in the hope of more lenient sentences.
“If what they expose of others is verified to be true, they will be considered to have “made a contribution’… which allows them to be given a lighter sentence according to law,” Xu was quoted as saying in the article published on Monday.
Xu, 55, is known for representing senior corrupt officials. Apart from Ling, he has defended a number of other “tigers”, including Li Zhi, former deputy chief of Xinjiang’s people’s congress; and Shen Peiping, former vice-governor of Yunnan province.
Ling, the one-time top aide to former president Hu Jintao, was in July sentenced to life in jail for accepting more than 77 million yuan (HK$88 million) in bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abusing his power.
In announcing the verdict, the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate Court said Ling’s guilty plea was taken into account in his sentencing.