Former telecom chief gets life sentence

[WedgeAntilles]

Former telecom chief gets life sentence

CRI, November 19, 2013

A file photo of former executive director and deputy manager of China Mobile Lu Xiangdong.

Lu Xiangdong, former executive director and deputy manager of China Mobile, the country's largest telecommunication company, has been sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes worth more than 20 million yuan, or US$3.3 billion.

Leading business website caixin.com reports that the Intermediate Court of Jilin City in northeast China handed down the life sentence to Lu last Friday.

The website also reports that Lu's wife was given a three-year sentence with five-year reprieve as an accomplice. An advertisement company head who was identified in the report simply by the surname Sun, who is involved in Lu's bribery case, received a six-year sentence.

Sources say Sun made about 20 million yuan in illicit profits from advertisements with China Mobile, which was denied by Lu Xiangdong.

Before Lu was investigated in early 2012, he was in charge of the company's marketing operations, digital business and managed the mobile giant's institutional clients.

Caixin.com says Lu is likely to file for an appeal.