BEIJING, May 7: Two former Chinese Defence Ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve over graft charges by a military court today, in an unprecedented purge at the top of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Their sentences were separately handed down by the military court.
Both Wei and Li were also former members of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), headed by President Xi Jinping, and former state councillors, a high-ranking designation of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
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Wei, 72, was convicted of accepting bribes, while Li, 68, was convicted of both accepting and offering bribes, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the court rulings.
In China, death penalties with reprieve are typically commuted to life sentences.
Both Wei and Li headed the powerful Rocket (missile) Force, established in 2015 as part of Xi’s military overhaul.
Gen Wei, who headed the rocket force from its inception until 2017 and later served as the defence minister from 2018 to 2023, was detained and expelled from the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) over corruption charges.
The Rocket Force operates China’s most powerful long and short-range missiles and is regarded as significant, as it is the key military arm of the PLA.
They were stripped of their political rights for life, and all of their personal properties will be confiscated.
The court rulings said that no further commutation or parole will be allowed after their penalties are commuted to life imprisonment in accordance with the law upon the expiration of the two-year reprieve period.
Under the current political order in China, officials convicted of corruption have at times received death sentences, though these were seldom carried out because the judgments typically included a two-year reprieve. (PTI)
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