What’s new: The former chief justice of North China’s Inner Mongolia has pleaded guilty to taking more than 37 million yuan ($5.1 million) in bribes in exchange for favorable treatment in judicial cases and other help, according to a court statement.
Hu Yifeng, former president of the High People’s Court of the autonomous region, stood trial Thursday in Xinzhou, Shanxi province, where he faced charges for accepting bribes over a 23-year period.
An investigation found Hu accepted most of the bribes while holding multiple positions in Inner Mongolia from 1997 to 2018. The bribe payers sought his help in obtaining project contracts, job promotions and case handling, the Xinzhou court said.
Even in retirement, he continued to leverage his influence to help others with their cases through his connections with relevant officials in 2019, receiving 2 million yuan in return, said the court, which did not announce a sentence.
The background: The court statement comes as China continues its campaign to crack down on corruption in law enforcement and the judiciary. In addition to Hu, dozens of disgraced senior officials have faced criminal charges for corruption this year.
Hu, 69, became Inner Mongolia’s chief justice in 2011 and served in the post for seven years before retiring in January 2018. He was investigated for graft in April 2022 and expelled from the Communist Party five months later.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said last year that Hu “wantonly interfered in judicial activities” and “seriously undermined judicial credibility.”
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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