The former party chief of Nandan county in Guangxi province has been sentenced to death and three other officials severely punished for their roles in covering up a tin mine disaster in which 81 workers died.
Wan Ruizhong was sentenced to death for abusing his power and receiving bribes, the People's Daily Web site reported.
The county's former deputy party boss, Tang Yusheng, was jailed for 29 years. Mo Zhuanglong, another former deputy party secretary of Nandan, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and Wei Xueguang, former deputy county head, was jailed for 14 years.
The four officials were convicted of conspiring to cover up an accident on July 17 last year, when a tin mine flooded.
The prosecutor's report said the four officials met on the evening of July 18 and decided to cover up the accident. They did not report it to the central Government.
According to a notice issued by the State Council, all party and government officials are required to immediately report accidents to the central Government and launch investigations.
Wan, 50, was also accused of receiving bribes between 1999 and last year worth 3.21 million yuan (HK$3.01 million) from tin mine owner Li Dongming and other parties.
