Disgraced cadre's daughter jailed
Cheng Youlan, the daughter of disgraced former Hebei party secretary Cheng Weigao, has been fined more than 7 million yuan and sentenced to three years' jail for evading 1.77 million yuan in taxes.
The Hebei Zhangjiakou Qiaodong District Court ruled that Cheng Youlan, formerly president and chief financial officer of Beijing Jiarui Advertising, failed to pay about one-fifth of the tax she owed on income earned from June 1996 to the second half of 1999.
The prosecutor argued she and her brother Cheng Muyang evaded 2.19 million yuan in taxes by instructing accountants to forge documents, exaggerate spending and understate the company's income on 10 occasions.
But the judge said the state had only been able to prove 1.77 million yuan in tax evasion.
The court also noted Cheng Youlan's willingness to pay for the shortfall and reduced the severity of her sentence.
Cheng Muyang, who was a shareholder in the company, fled to Canada in 2000 when a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Sentence was passed last week. Although the verdict in the case was welcomed, legal experts say it does not mean the authorities will now investigate the case of Cheng Weigao, who was dismissed from the party last August following allegations of corruption.
'Cheng Weigao's file was not transferred to the prosecutor after he was dismissed by the party, which suggests he will not be brought to court,' said Xu Lanting, a criminal law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law.
In theory, cases involving corrupt officials should be transferred to the state prosecutor as soon as they have been disciplined or dismissed by the party.
'But in Cheng's case this did not happen,' Professor Xu said. 'In fact, the case has not even been listed as one under investigation, let alone one being prosecuted.'
Cheng Weigao was dismissed amid allegations he abused his position to arrange favours for his family and other associates in the provincial government and victimised those who reported his illegal behaviour. But the precise nature of the charges has never been made clear and there seems little hope the case will be pursued.
