Son, wife of ex-security chief jailed in China

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – A Chinese court has handed jail sentences to the son and wife of a former security chief who was sentenced to life in prison last year.

State news agency Xinhua reported that a court in central Hubei Province gave Zhou Bin, son of Zhou Yongkang, an 18-year sentence Wednesday after finding him guilty of receiving bribes and illegal business operations.

The Yichang City Intermediate People's Court also fined him 350.2 million yuan ($53 million) and ordered the confiscation of “his illegally obtained assets”.

He and his father were accused of taking advantage of the elder Zhou’s positions in order to seek benefits for others and accepting property worth around 98 million yuan ($14.9 million).

The court also sentenced the wife of 73-year-old Zhou Yongkang, Jia Xiaoye, to nine years imprisonment.

Local media cited the court’s social media account as saying that Jia, 46, was jailed for accepting bribes and fined 1 million yuan.

In June last year, the elder Zhou became the highest ranking official to be sentenced under President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, which has also seen his other allies handed jail terms.

Zhou was convicted of revealing state secrets, graft, abuse of power and accepting bribes.

Since the anti-graft drive was launched in 2013, tens of thousands of suspects have been investigated, including dozens of high-profile individuals at the top of the Communist Party of China.