Tax scam

CHINESE police cracked a tax scam case involving nearly 100 billion yuan (US$14.6 billion) and 25 criminal gangs, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

Police in five provincial-level regions including Shanghai and Guangdong arrested 304 suspects and destroyed 53 dens that had forged a large number of value-added tax invoices.

Departments reshuffle

THREE departments responsible for implementing family planning policies have been removed from the new structure of the National Health Commission, the commission has announced on its website.

The departments have been replaced with a new one that will focus on population monitoring and family development, and will be responsible for putting forward advice related to birth policies.

11 sentenced

A COURT in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province yesterday handed down sentences to 11 defendants on charges of illegal production of explosives that caused a blast which killed 15 people in 2016.

The intermediate people’s court in the city of Yulin sentenced three defendants to death and another two face death penalties with a two-year reprieve.