Former Chinese Defence Ministers Sentenced to Death for Corruption

BEIJING – Former Chinese Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu have been handed death sentences with a two-year suspension for corruption charges. This was reported by the state news agency Xinhua on Thursday (7 May). The verdict highlights the strength of the ongoing clean-up efforts within the military establishment. Previous reports from Xinhua indicated that Li was suspected of receiving large sums of money in bribes and bribing others. The investigation also found that he failed to fulfil his political responsibilities and sought personal gain as well as benefits for others. The probe launched against Wei in 2023 revealed that he had accepted large sums of money and valuables as bribes and assisted others in obtaining undue advantages in personnel arrangements. Xinhua’s report in 2024 added that the defendants’ actions were extremely serious, with highly detrimental impacts. In China, a death sentence with suspension, also known as a suspended death sentence, is usually commuted to life imprisonment if the offender commits no further crimes during the suspension period.