A close aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping was sentenced to life in prison in the first trial on charges of taking about 28.6 billion won in bribes.
On the 2nd, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and others, the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court in Fujian province sentenced former Minister of Justice Tang Yijun, who was indicted on bribery charges, to life in prison. The court ordered Tang Yijun to be deprived of political rights for life and to have all personal assets confiscated. The court also decided to recover Tang Yijun's criminal proceeds and interest to the state treasury.
Tang Yijun, who served as Minister of Justice for three years starting in 2020, is also classified as a close aide to Xi. Tang Yijun served as Ningbo party secretary when Xi served as Zhejiang province deputy party secretary and party secretary from 2002 to 2007. Tang Yijun was investigated in Apr. 2024 by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.
The court found that from 2006 to 2022, while holding key posts in Zhejiang province, Liaoning province, and the Ministry of Justice, Tang Yijun used official authority to help with corporations' management and case handling, and received 137 million yuan (about 28.6 billion won) in bribes.