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"I definitely knew it was wrong. You can call me foolish or stupid, but at the time, there really was no other way out." —— Xiao Xianmin
Information Times reports (reporter Wei Weiwei) The chairman indulged in extravagant gambling in Macau, losing tens of millions yuan, claiming he had no choice but to do so to change the company's operational difficulties. Former chairman of Guangzhou Foreign Wheel Supply Co., Ltd., Xiao Xianmin, after losing tens of millions in gambling debts, borrowed money everywhere citing poor company performance. Within a mere five years, he embezzled an astonishing total of 57,927,000 yuan. Yesterday, the Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou sentenced him to 15 years in prison for embezzlement.
Embezzling 57 Million Public Funds
The defendant, Xiao Xianmin, born in February 1956 with roots in Hunan Province and raised in Guangzhou, has an associate degree and became the chairman of Guangzhou Foreign Wheel Supply Co., Ltd. in 1998. According to charges, from August 1999 to November 2003, while serving as the general manager and chairman of Guangzhou Foreign Wheel Supply Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Foreign Wheel Materials Co., Ltd. (a state-owned joint venture), and Guangzhou Biyuan Water Purification Equipment Co., Ltd. (a partnership), responsible for the overall operations of these three companies, Xiao Xianmin took advantage of his position and embezzled public funds on 39 separate occasions, totaling RMB 57,564,000. These funds were used to repay gambling debts incurred in Macau, as well as for the operation of and repaying personal debts related to private enterprises he was responsible for: Guangzhou Xiangwu Industry Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Watch Co., Ltd.
Claiming Gambling Was the Only Way Out
Although Xiao Xianmin confessed to the charges against him, saying, "I definitely knew it was wrong. You can call me foolish or stupid, but at the time, there really was no other way out," he argued that when he became chairman in 1998, "the company was already in dire straits, facing imminent collapse." "Upon reviewing the financial report, I discovered that the company had already accumulated losses exceeding 80 million yuan under previous management. In this situation, the manager and several executives proposed that since many employees were betting on illegal lotteries, they should appoint someone to be the bookie and use the winnings to pay salaries."
Arguing That Gambling Saved the Company
During the trial, Xiao Xianmin also claimed that in early 1999, he used his own year-end bonus of 16,000 yuan to gamble in Macau, winning over 200,000 yuan which he then distributed as employee wages. Around April 1999, he met Ou, a "chip boy" at a Macau casino, who agreed to provide him with 7 million yuan in gambling capital each time, with a one-year term and final settlement at year's end.
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Subsequently, he won over 20 million yuan at Macau casinos, using it to repay over 16 million Hong Kong dollars of the company's debt and purchase over 3 million yuan worth of water purifier parts. After the Spring Festival in 2000, Xiao Xianmin's luck turned sharply downward, and he lost all the money he had won, accumulating significant gambling debts to the "chip boy." To borrow money to recover his losses, Xiao Xianmin borrowed from cooperative units in the company's name to repay debts. Regarding this claim, the prosecution argued there was no clear evidence indicating Xiao had indeed taken such actions.
Confession Recognized, Lighter Sentence Given
It is known that the now 54-year-old Xiao Xianmin suffers from severe diabetes and hypertension. During the trial, he earnestly requested the court to expedite its judgment. Yesterday, the prosecutor supplemented evidence proving that his company was state-owned and detailed his surrender process after being educated by the disciplinary inspection department. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court made an immediate verdict: although Xiao Xianmin still owes more than 57 million yuan, given his confession and good attitude towards admitting guilt, he received a lighter sentence of 15 years imprisonment. The court will continue to pursue the recovery of the remaining stolen funds.
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