China to execute corrupt boss

By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing

A court in south-east China has sentenced the head of a state-owned company to death for corruption.

Yu Bufan, head of an engineering firm was found guilty of taking more than $500,000 in bribes, by the court in the port city of Xiamen, in Fujian province.

China has sentenced numerous officials to death

Xiamen is currently at the centre of China's biggest ever corruption investigation, involving hundreds of government officials.

Last month, courts in Fujian convicted 84 people of involvement in the scandal and sentenced 11of them to death. More convictions are expected soon.

The list of government officials and state employees sentenced to death for corruption grows almost by the week.

Those executed for corruption this year include a deputy provincial governor and one of the vice chairmen of China's national parliament.

Distrust

The central government is hoping such harsh measures will help to quell growing public anger over the rampant level of official corruption.

But there are signs that ordinary Chinese people are not being convinced.

One recent survey found only 12% of those questioned are highly confident in the government's anti-corruption drive, as opposed to 40% who thought it ineffective or a complete waste of time.

Military chief

One reason is the widespread perception that the government's anti-corruption campaign is aimed solely at lower-level officials and that those at high levels, or with good connections to the central government, are still largely immune.

In the last few days, unconfirmed reports have emerged that a senior general has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption.

The general, who comes from one of China's most powerful families, is accused of amassing nearly $10m in bribes and embezzled public funds - vastly more than the lowly factory manager in Fujian who now faces execution.