China’s military court sentences two former defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption-related offences, according to Chinese state media. Reports say Wei is found guilty of accepting bribes and receives a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. They also say Li is found guilty of accepting and offering bribes and receives the same type of sentence. Multiple outlets describe the punishment as a suspended death term under Chinese law, which is typically commuted to life imprisonment after the reprieve period if conditions are met. The cases are presented as among the harshest penalties applied to senior figures in the Chinese military in years, and they are framed as part of President Xi Jinping’s broader anti-corruption and military-purge efforts that have targeted senior officials. Authorities also report that both men were removed from their posts after investigations and later expelled from the ruling Communist Party. The state media accounts do not provide specific details such as the amounts involved in the alleged bribes.
China sentences two former defence ministers to suspended death terms for bribery
China’s military court sentences two former defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption-related offences, according to Chinese state media. Reports s...
- China’s military court sentences former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption charges.
- Wei is convicted of accepting bribes; Li is convicted of accepting and offering bribes, according to state media cited by outlets.
- Outlets report the suspended death terms are generally commuted to life imprisonment after the reprieve period under Chinese law.
- The rulings are described as some of the harshest punishments for senior Chinese military officials during Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.
- Both men were removed from military posts and later expelled from the ruling Communist Party, according to reports.
Under Chinese law, the suspended death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
5 months agoTwo former Chinese defense ministers were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption, marking a severe blow in Xi's military purge.
5 months agoTwo former defence ministers have received their sentences after a long-running corruption crackdown targeting China's military.
5 months agoEx-defence ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe both sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, among the most severe sentences in a years-long purgeTwo former Chinese defence ministers were given suspended death sentences for bribery on Thursday, after being convicted by China’s military court, in some of the most severe punishments to be handed down in a years-long purge of the military.Chinese state media Xinhua announced on Thursday that Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe were both sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, meaning that their sentences will probably be commuted to life imprisonment if Li and Wei demonstrate good behaviour. Continue reading...
5 months agoThe former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were both sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve over graft charges. The post China sentences former defence ministers to death for corruption appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
5 months agoUntil now, no one from the military top brass had received such severe punishments since early days of the anti-corruption campaign.
5 months agoPunishment underlines severity of Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge of powerful military
5 months agoBoth were the latest to be sentenced in President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign, which started more than a decade ago.
5 months agoTwo former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve over graft charges on Thursday, official media reported. Wei and his successor Li, who worked under President Xi Jinping's watch, were expelled from the ruling Communist Party in 2024. Wei served as Defence Minister from 2018 to 2023, and Li barely served a few months as his successor. Li, a Chinese aerospace engineer who headed the People's Liberation Army's all-important Rocket (Missile) Force, was personally picked up for the top defence post by Xi himself.
5 months agoGen. Wei Fenghe and Gen. Li Shangfu are likely to spend the rest of their lives in prison after receiving suspended death sentences.
5 months agoA Chinese military court handed suspended death sentences on Thursday to two former defence ministers for corruption, state media said. They are the harshest sentences that Beijing has slapped on high-ranking military officials as part of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign. Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu’s sentences will be “commuted to life imprisonment” after a […]
5 months agoThe sentence underscored the severity of China’s military corruption purges, which expose serious weaknesses and gaps in its command structure.
5 months agoChina on Thursday announced suspended death sentences for two former defense ministers convicted of graft, the first rulings since Chinese leader Xi Jinping started a sweeping military purge in 2023.
5 months agoWei and his successor Li, who worked under President Xi Jinping's watch, were expelled from the ruling Communist Party in 2024. They were also former members of the Central Military Commission headed by Mr. Xi
5 months agoFormer Defense Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu were once members of China's powerful Central Military Commission, the body that oversees the country's military.
5 months agoBEIJING — A Chinese military court gave suspended death sentences Thursday to former defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, who were accused of bribery, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The court said Wei was guilty of accepting bribes and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. It said Li was guilty of accepting and offering bribes, and handed him the same sentence. Suspended death sentences are often commuted to life in prison in China. The sentences are the latest in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign of purging senior officials. Xi started an anti-corruption drive more than a decade ago and his drive has continued unabated, culminating in the removal of China’s highest ranking general and military leadership in January. Wei served as defense minister from 2018 until 2023. Li succeeded him but served for just months until he was removed from office in October 2023.
5 months agoChina has handed down death sentences with a two-year reprieve to former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu for corruption. This significant development is part of President Xi Jinping's extensive anti-graft campaign targeting the military and political elite. Both officials were found guilty of graft-related offenses, with Li Shangfu also accused of seeking improper benefits in personnel appointments.
5 months agoThe punishments are believed to rank among the harshest imposed on senior Chinese military officials in decades, highlighting the severity of China's anti-corruption drive within its armed forces.
5 months agoTwo former Chinese defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, have been sentenced to death with reprieve on corruption charges, according to Xinhua. A military court found Wei guilty of accepting bribery, while Li was deemed guilty of both accepting and offering bribes, according to a two-paragraph statement released late on Thursday afternoon by Xinhua. The statement did not specify the amount of bribes involved in the cases. Both men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve,...
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