The former head of a publicly-owned Beijing construction giant was sentenced to 13 years in jail for accepting bribes valued at 1.54 million yuan (205,000 U.S. dollars).

Nie Yuhe, former general manager of Beijing Urban and Rural Construction Group, pleaded guilty to the corruption charges but claimed he accepted the cash bribes as national holiday gifts between 2001 and 2005 to "maintain good relations".

Niu, 53, told the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing it was "common practice" in the construction industry to offer cash or shopping vouchers as New Year gifts.

The "gifts" he received also included brand-name suits and mobile phones.
Investigators found most of the bribers were the bosses of smaller construction firms and had bribed their way into big contracts.

The largest bribe came from the manager of a construction firm affiliated to Nie's group, who used 400,000 yuan (54,000 U.S. dollars) of public funds to furnish Nie's home.

Nie gambled away most of his illicit income, the court heard.

In 2002, he accompanied Zhao Fengyi, general manager of a company affiliated to the group, and five colleagues to the Republic of Korea. They blew one million yuan (125,000 U.S. dollars) of embezzled company cash on luxuries and gambling during the World Cup.

Zhao was convicted of the embezzlement in a separate trial and is still awaiting sentencing for this crime.

China's construction sector is notorious for bribery, under-the-table deals and payments in arrears. At least seven executives of the Beijing construction giant are being investigated for corruption.

(Xinhua News Agency, December 6, 2007)