A Chinese supreme court judge who accepted bribes totaling 22.7 million yuan (USD 3.3 million) over a 20-year period was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The intermediate people’s court in Zhengzhou city stated on Tuesday that Judge Meng Xiang, a former head of the Supreme People’s Court’s enforcement bureau and member of its trial committee, had also been penalized two million yuan after he confessed taking bribes between 2003 and 2020.
According to the court, Meng accepted bribes in exchange for aiding others with issues like court decisions and law enforcement, securing construction contracts for businesses, and influencing cadre selection, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
According to the article, Meng, 58, was under investigation two years ago as part of a “self-rectification” effort aimed at law enforcement and judiciary personnel.
He began his career in the legal system of the nation more than three decades before as a clerk in a small Beijing district court.
He had a number of executive roles in the legal system as he ascended through the ranks, including the Beijing High People’s Court.
A former chief justice named Zhou Qiang stated at the legislature’s annual meeting last month that 61 members of the supreme court, which is made up of hundreds of judges and administrative officials, had been investigated and punished over the previous five years, despite the fact that Meng’s case highlights corruption in the higher echelons of China’s judiciary.
Meng participated in talks regarding complicated and significant cases as a member of the supreme court’s trial committee, a group of high-ranking officials chosen by the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, the article claimed.
In 2016, he was appointed director of the enforcement bureau, when he was charged with maintaining the efficient functioning of the legal system.
The agency handles appeals pertaining to court decisions, manages problems affecting the implementation of judgements across several areas or provinces, and enforces court decrees.
According to the ruling, Meng received a lesser sentence because he showed regret and admitted to bribery offenses that the authorities were previously unaware of.
The Post said that the national treasury will get any accumulated interest in addition to the confiscation of all of his unlawful gains.
