A Chinese court has sentenced a former public official, Yang Youlin, to death for bribery, offering bribes, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power, and money laundering.
The former executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee is also expected to pay millions of yuan in fines.
The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court found that Youlin illegally accepted money and property totalling more than 2.2 billion yuan ($324m) while holding various government posts from 1993 to 2023.
In Nanjing Jiangning, Youlin held top positions spanning Construction Bureau, Municipal Engineering Company, Economic and Technological Development, Science and Technology Park, and Cultural Tourism Development.
“The bribery amount was exceptionally large. The social impact was exceptionally egregious. He caused significant losses to the state and the people,” the court said in a statement on Monday.
The ruling ordered the proceeds of Yang Youlin’s crimes and any interest accrued to be turned over to the national treasury, with additional recovery to be pursued.
Findings show that the conviction is the latest in a series of recent verdicts involving several public officials, with penalties ranging from years of imprisonment to death sentences, mostly with a two-year reprieve.
The respite is a suspended death sentence in China in which convicts avoid immediate execution. The sentence is commuted to life imprisonment if they do not commit further crimes and show reformation during the two years.
On May 7, 2026, the Military Court sentenced Wei Fenghe to death for bribery, with a two-year reprieve. He was a
