Gu sold military-owned land for kickbacks: report
A military court on Monday sentenced a former deputy head of the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption.
Gu Junshan, 58, is the first high-ranking military officer to be handed a suspended death sentence for corruption since President Xi Jinping came into office in 2013.
Gu was found guilty of embezzlement, accepting bribes, misuse of state funds, bribery and abuse of power. He has been deprived of his political rights for life and had all his personal assets confiscated, according to a court statement. Gu was also stripped of his rank of lieutenant general, said the statement, published on the website of the defense ministry.
Gu's embezzlement, bribery and misuse of State funds involved "particularly huge amounts" of money, and his abuse of power is "particularly serious," the military court said. But after his arrest, he provided information to authorities on alleged crimes committed by other people, which is a "major contribution" that can be considered for leniency, according to the law.
As an anti-graft campaign shakes the central and local governments, the military is also undergoing a shake-up as high-ranking officers were brought down for corruption.
Last month, Guo Boxiong, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Committee (CMC), China's top military leadership, was removed from the Communist Party of China as he is under investigation for bribery and helping others gain promotion.
Another former CMC vice-chairman, Xu Caihou, was placed under investigation last year for corruption.
"The authorities' move shows that the anti-graft campaign has made breakthroughs in the military as well," said Ren Jianming, an anti-corruption expert at Beihang University. "In the past, it was difficult to investigate high-ranking officers in the military, but Party leader Xi has shown that there will be no dark corners in the anti-graft campaign."
Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Research Center for Government Integrity Building at Peking University, said the harsh punishment for Gu is a severe warning to corrupt officials. It will also help push forward reforms in the military, and give hope to regular officers and soldiers that they can get promoted through merit instead of bribes, he said.
The exact amount of money or properties involved in Gu's case has not been revealed by authorities, but according to earlier reports from news portal caixin.com, Gu obtained huge kickbacks from selling military-owned land. It was reported that Gu owns dozens of properties in Beijing and other places.
