Chinese court upholds death penalty for police chief in Chongqing gang case

Chinese court backs sentence for police chief

BEIJING — A court in southern China upheld the death penalty Friday of a former police chief convicted of taking bribes from local gang leaders.

The Chongqing Municipal Higher People’s Court rejected the appeal from Wen Qiang, 55, who was convicted of taking bribes worth millions from gang members while he was director of the Chongqing Municipal Judicial Bureau, a report on the court’s website said.

Wen’s case has been the biggest in a series of gang prosecutions in the southwestern city of Chongqing that have featured lurid testimony about sex, corruption and the city’s violent underworld.

Wen was sentenced to death in April for taking bribes worth more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million).

Wen, who was also found guilty of raping a university student in 2007 and 2008, told the court that most of the money he accepted was for “birthday and New Year” greetings, state media has reported.

More than 3,000 people, including 14 high-ranking government and police officials, have been arrested in a crackdown on Chonqging’s underworld activities, exposing links between government officials and police officers who provided cover for crime syndicates.

Wen was accused of protecting the gang operations masterminded by his sister-in-law, Xie Caiping, 46, known as the “godmother” of the Chongqing underworld. Xie was sentenced to 18 years in prison in November for running illegal casinos and bribing government officials.

Xie was notorious for her toughness and a lavish lifestyle that reportedly included luxury villas and a stable of 16 young lovers.