Former national political advisor sentenced to 15 years in prison for graft

Shen Deyong, a former senior political adviser, was sentenced Friday to 15 years imprisonment for accepting bribes.

Shen was formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and head of the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee. He also once served as the vice president of the Supreme People's Court.

According to the verdict issued by the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo Municipality, Shen was also fined 6 million yuan (US$840,124). Shen's illegal gains from bribery and the interest it generated will be confiscated and handed over to the state treasury.

The court established that Shen took advantage of his various positions to assist individuals and organizations on matters related to case handling, job promotion and project contracting between 1995 and 2022.

In return, he directly or indirectly accepted money and valuables worth over 64.56 million yuan, said the court.

After his arrest, Shen confessed to his crimes and was cooperative in returning all of his illegal gains and exposing crimes committed by other individuals. However, in light of the fact that he grossly infringed upon the judiciary system and caused serious consequences to society, Shen will not be granted a lenient sentence, according to the court.