Title: Deputy Director of Chaoyang District Local Tax Bureau Confesses to Corruption During Investigation Cooperation, Recognized as Self-Surrender, Sentenced to Probation for Bribery
Report (by reporter Fu Zhong): Anti-graft investigators originally intended to inquire about someone else's bribery issues. Unexpectedly, the deputy director of the local tax bureau who was cooperating with the investigation became nervous and confessed to receiving money from developers.
Today, the Beijing Weihang Law Firm announced that Liu Hui, 48 years old and former deputy director of the Chaoyang District Local Tax Bureau, was sentenced by the court to one year and two months in prison, suspended for one year and six months for committing the crime of accepting bribes.
In early June 2009, anti-corruption investigators from the procuratorate were investigating a case of official corruption and sought out Liu Hui, then serving as the deputy director of the Chaoyang District Local Tax Bureau, to gather information.
The anti-corruption personnel originally hoped that Liu Hui would assist the prosecution in clarifying "another person's matter." However, upon seeing the anti-corruption personnel, Liu Hui became afraid and voluntarily confessed everything he had done. These matters were completely unknown to the anti-corruption personnel.
On June 6 of the same year, based on Liu Hui's confession, the procuratorate announced the initiation of an investigation against him and placed him under criminal detention on the same day.
The prosecution ultimately determined that in 2007, the Chaoyang Local Tax Bureau Inspection Office conducted a tax inspection on the real estate project of Zhonghong Investment Co., Ltd. During this period, the company contacted Liu Hui, invited him to dinner, and presented him with a gift.
Subsequently, Zhonghong Investment Company gave Liu Hui 30,000 yuan in cash. Liu Hui immediately instructed the Inspection Office to halt the tax inspection on the company.
Liu Hui also confessed that during his tenure as deputy director of the Tongzhou Local Tax Bureau in 2004, he used his position overseeing tax inspections to agree to allow a Beijing real estate development company to replace its 2003 income tax final settlement report.
Later, Liu Hui dined with the company’s finance staff and received 50,000 yuan in cash from them in the parking lot.
During the trial, Liu Hui's family returned 80,000 yuan in cash.
Court Ruling
After deliberation, the court believed that Liu Hui, as a public servant, took advantage of his position to illegally accept money from others and seek benefits for others, thus constituting the crime of accepting bribes.
Regarding the second crime, although Liu Hui made confessions, the details of his confession (such as the name of the bribe-giving company and the name of the briber) did not match the charges. The prosecution only possessed a single written statement from Liu Mou, the actual controller of the real estate company, which contained hearsay evidence. Moreover, the "money first, then action" statement contradicted Liu Hui's confession. Ultimately, due to insufficient evidence, the court did not recognize this charge.
At the same time, the court considered that regardless of Liu Hui's motives for voluntarily confessing, his actions constituted self-surrender. Additionally, he returned all illicit gains, allowing for leniency under the law and resulting in a probation sentence.