CHINA:A Chinese court has sentenced a former leading provincial politician to death for killing his mistress, after he tired of her constant demands for money.
Duan Yihe, formerly Communist Party secretary and head of the local assembly in the eastern city of Jinan, asked his nephew-in-law, local policeman Chen Zhi, to help murder Liu Haiping, the Xinhua news agency reported. Chen was also sentenced to death and his accomplice, mechanic Chen Changbing, was given life imprisonment.
Duan (61) had been in "an intimate relationship" with Ms Liu, a divorced woman 30 years his junior, since 2000, during which time he bought her a house and arranged jobs for many of her relatives, the court heard.
He gradually tired of his mistress, but she repeatedly asked for money, demanded he divorce his wife to marry her, and even threatened to report him to the prosecuting authorities.
At around 5pm on July 9th, Chen Zhi and Chen Changbing planted a homemade bomb in Ms Liu's car and set off the blast 30 minutes later by remote control as she was driving. The explosion killed Ms Liu and injured two passing pedestrians.
Duan said he had only wanted to cause an accident that would make Ms Liu "lose her ability to think", and blamed her death on Chen's error. Duan was also found guilty of bribery and being unable to account for millions of yuan in assets he had accrued, the report said.
The death sentence is the latest in a string of harsh penalties meted out in recent months as the central government seeks to combat rampant corruption that it believes could weaken its grip on power. The private lives of politicians are under increased scrutiny.
The former head of the State Drug and Food Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, was executed last month for taking millions of yuan in bribes during his 10-year reign at the agency.