Olympic official gets suspended death sentence

THE Chinese bureaucrat who oversaw construction projects for this year’s Beijing Olympics has received a suspended death sentence for corruption in a case that involved bribery and lavish living.

The Chinese state news agency has reported that the sentence, suspended for two years, meant that if the defendant “shows good behaviour, his sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment.”

Official Liu Zhihua, 59, once exercised immense power as Beijing’s vice-mayor and chief director of the agency supervising construction projects, including the citywide makeover to prepare for the Games.