China unveils 5 major farm-sector corruption cases

China's top judicial bodies on Friday unveiled five major corruption cases in the agricultural sector, underscoring their commitment to combating graft and boosting rural vitality.

The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate stressed the importance of tackling corruption involving agriculture, rural areas and farmers, noting that these sectors are vital to advancing Chinese modernization. They also called for harsher penalties for officials found guilty of such offenses.

One highlighted case involved a defendant surnamed Yang, who served as deputy head of the poverty alleviation and development office and deputy head of the rural vitalization bureau in a district of Chongqing. Yang was convicted of accepting more than 3.6 million yuan ($522,392) in bribes in exchange for providing benefits to others during the development of high-standard farmland and specialty agriculture projects.

In another case, a defendant surnamed Chu, who served as deputy head of the agricultural machinery management bureau and deputy head of the agriculture and rural affairs bureau in a district of Huai'an, Jiangsu province, was found guilty of abusing his power during the agricultural machinery purchase and subsidy process and illegally receiving more than 4.39 million yuan.

Both defendants were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, "which reflects the judiciary's firm stance against corruption affecting agriculture, rural areas, and farmers," the authorities said.

The authorities also identified crimes such as embezzlement and misappropriation of rural collective assets, State agricultural support funds and pension funds as severely damaging to farmers' interests. They reaffirmed the need not only to impose stringent sentences on offenders, but also to increase economic penalties and make greater efforts to recover and mitigate financial losses.