CHINA-CORRUPTION/ZHOU China state TV shows ex-security chief Zhou admitting to bribery

Record ID: 134802

  • Title: CHINA-CORRUPTION/ZHOU China state TV shows ex-security chief Zhou admitting to bribery
  • Date: 11th June 2015
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MARCH 5, 2010) (REUTERS) OPENING CEREMONY OF NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS FORMER CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO AND FORMER CHINESE PREMIER WEN JIABAO STANDING WHILE DELEGATES WALK IN
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABW5SLX87WATBL1JWD8WH2LHKJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: China sentenced its powerful former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang to life in jail on Thursday (June 11), after he was found guilty at a closed door trial of bribery, leaking state secrets and abuse of power, in China's most sensational graft scandal in 70 years.
    Zhou, who was formally charged in April, was tried in the northern city of Tianjin on May 22. He admitted his guilt and decided not to appeal against the verdict, state media said.
    The presiding judge of Tianjin No. 1 Medium People's Court Ding Xuejun read out the verdict in court.
    "The defendant Zhou Yongkang who is suspected of bribery, is sentenced to life in jail, deprived of political rights for life and confiscate personal assets. (Zhou) is sentenced to seven years in jail on charge of abuse of power. (Zhou) is sentenced to four years in jail on charge of intentionally leaking national secrets. (We) decide to put you in jail for life, deprive you of his political rights for life and confiscate personal assets," Ding said.
    Zhou, 72, is the most senior Chinese official to be ensnared in a graft scandal since the party swept to power in 1949. The decision to try Zhou underscores President Xi Jinping's pledge to fight corruption at the highest levels.
    "I accept the verdict from the court and will not appeal. I realize the facts that I violated the law and committed crimes, which caused loss for Party. I once again confess and regret," Zhou said.
    Zhou had not been seen in public since October 2013.
    Zhou's alleged crimes took place over decades, including when he was deputy general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), party boss in south-western Sichuan province, minister of public security and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, according to the initial indictment.
    The page-and-a-half statement published by the official Xinhua news agency gave brief but tantalising details of the trial, though it did not elaborate on the nature of the state secrets he leaked.
    Zhou was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's apex of power - and held the post of security tsar until he retired in 2012.
    Sources with ties to the Chinese leadership have previously told Reuters that Xi has been determined to bring down Zhou for allegedly plotting appointments to retain influence ahead of the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, when Xi took over the party.
    Zhou joined the Politburo Standing Committee in 2007 while also heading the central Political and Legal Affairs Committee, a sprawling body that oversees law and order policy.
    The security apparatus he ran expanded during his watch and consumed a budget that exceeded the official figure for military spending. He quickly earned the enmity of Chinese dissidents.
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