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Wang Yingcheng, former president of People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC), has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes, according to reports from Chinese state media.
The Intermediate Court of Fozhou found Wang guilty of receiving around RMB8.6 million (US$1.36 million) in bribes between 2006 and 2016, in exchange for favours such as project contracts, staff promotions, and hiring family members, reported People’s Daily, the office newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party.
In addition to his jail sentence, Wang, who was also a Communist Party vice secretary at PICC, will face confiscation of all ill-gotten assets and a fine of RMB1 million (US$157,000).
In January 2017, Wang was taken into custody by authorities while he was working at PICC headquarters. Then in July, he was expelled from the Communist Party for “serious discipline violations”, a common euphemism for corruption in China.
Investigations from anti-corruption watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) showed that he used PICC’s facilities for private use, put personal travels on the company’s tab, and changed overseas business schedules in order to play golf, Reuters reported.
Wang also allegedly tried to bribe CCDI officials during the investigation.
He is the latest senior finance official to fall in the Chinese government’s anti-corruption drive. Anbang Insurance’s former chairman Wu Xiaohui was arrested for fraud and embezzlement, and was sentenced to 18 years in jail in May. Meanwhile, Xiang Junbo, former chief of the country’s insurance regulator, is also undergoing trial for corruption charges.
