| Official who built White House replica gets life for taking bribes |
BEIJING, Jan 31 (AP) -- A Chinese provincial Communist Party official who built a luxury office building that replicated the White House has been sentenced to life in prison on corruption charges linked to his construction projects, a state-owned newspaper reported Wednesday.
Feng Liucheng was given the sentence for taking bribes worth 3.69 million yuan (US$475,000; €366,000) and embezzling 2.71 million yuan (US$348,000; €268,000) in public funds, the Beijing Morning Post said.
Feng, 50, became party secretary of a district in the capital of central Henan province in 1999 and built six luxury office buildings during his time in power, including the White House replica.
It "drew great attention from the public," the newspaper said, adding that according to the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court, Feng arranged for the construction of the buildings without a public tender in return for the bribes.
Corruption is a huge problem in China, and the communist government has punished thousands of Chinese officials in a multiyear anti-graft crackdown.
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