THE former deputy chief engineer of the disbanded railways ministry has been given a suspended death sentence for corruption, Xinhua reported Friday.

    Zhang Shuguang, who was once the director of the ministry’s transport bureau and its deputy chief engineer, was accused of accepting bribes of more than 47 million yuan (US$7.66 million) between 2000 and 2011, while he was in charge of procuring rolling stock and other equipment for China’s railway expansion projects, the report said.

    The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court handed Zhang the suspended death sentence, which is usually implemented as a life sentence, Friday morning. He will also be deprived of all political rights for life and his personal property will be confiscated.

    The 58-year-old was accused of taking bribes in exchange for using his position to help several companies win contracts for a series of high-speed rail projects.

    Zhang was known for helping promote foreign high-speed rail technology in the country, and he played an integral role in the rail system’s development. He was also a close associate of Liu Zhijun, the former railways minister who was given a suspended death sentence for fostering corruption throughout the railway system during his tenure and accepting 64.6 million yuan in bribes.

    Liu had “the main leadership responsibility” for the deadly high-speed train crash in Zhejiang’s Wenzhou that killed 40 people in July 2011, earlier reports said.

    Zhang was sacked from his position in February 2011, soon after Liu’s detention. The railways ministry was later disbanded in March last year amid widespread reports of graft.

    Zhang’s case went to court last September. He pleaded guilty to all 13 charges related to bribery.

    Zhang was one of the most notorious of the so-called naked officials — those who remain in China but relocate their families abroad often to use their ill-gotten proceeds. Chinese-language media have widely reported that his wife and daughter moved to the United States a few years ago and now own a luxury villa in California and have speculated he may have as much as US$2.8 billion stashed away in overseas accounts. (SD-Agencies)