Former national political adviser sentenced to death for corruption

Liu Yuejin, a former national political adviser, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes of more than 121 million yuan ($16.83 million), a court in Fujian province announced on Monday.

Liu was also deprived of his political rights for life and had all his personal assets confiscated. Additionally, his illicit gains and relevant interests were ordered to be turned over to the state treasury, according to the ruling made by the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court.

Liu was a vice-ministerial level member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, and previously served as the head of the narcotics control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security.

After an investigation, the Fuzhou court found that Liu, from 1992 to 2020, took advantage of his positions, including deputy head of Tianjin Public Security Bureau's Tanggu branch and head of the ministry's narcotics control bureau, to seek benefits for other departments and individuals in various matters such as business operation and financing. In exchange, he accepted bribes worth over 121 million yuan.

The court identified Liu's behavior had constituting the crime of bribery and should be harshly punished, because the amount of bribes he accepted was "extremely large," causing "extremely great losses" to the country and the people.

However, considering he confessed to the offense, voluntarily shared many bribes unknown to investigators, and returned his illicit gains, "we've decided to leniently punish him," the court added.

Liu, 66, began his career in 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1977. He had a long tenure in the anti-drug sector and became the head of the Office of China National Narcotics Control Commission in May 2015.

He also acted as the commissioner for counter-terrorism of the ministry from 2015 to 2020.

In October 2011, he led the special task force to investigate the Mekong River incident, where 13 Chinese crew members aboard two cargo ships were killed by a group led by Naw Khaw in the border area between Myanmar and Thailand.

He was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of Party disciplines and national laws in March 2024.