BEIJING: China's former governor has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined Rs 1.18 crore for misconduct. The action is against Zhong Yang, nicknamed "the beautiful governor".
She was found to have had sexual relations with 58 male subordinates and to have received nearly 60 million yuan (71 crore) in bribes. She served as the governor and deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Guizhou Province's Qiannan Prefecture. The 52-year-old joined the Communist Party at the age of 22.
Zhong Yang gained a lot of attention for starting the Fruit and Agriculture Association to help farmers and for using her own money to help the elderly. This past January, many scandals committed by Zhong Yang came to light. A documentary aired by Guicho Radio and Television highlighted numerous abuses of power by the governor.
During her tenure as governor, she took bribes to get contracts for companies she wanted and allotted land to a businessman close to her in a high-tech industrial estate. Businessmen had complained in the previously released documentary that Zhong Yang was swindling all the companies she had no personal connection with. The documentary also detailed the subordinates who had sex with Zhong Yang.
Some of these willingly had sex with her for the benefits offered by Zhong. However, some gave in out of fear. She used to spend time with her subordinates on extra work and business trips.
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