Former fugitive who fell from favour jailed for life
The conviction of Lai Changxing yesterday brings to an end the saga of a man whose case tainted ruling party officials – including Jia Qinglin, who sits on the elite Standing Committee – with rumours of malfeasance, collusion and dereliction of duty.
Lai, 53, was jailed by a court in the eastern port of Xiamen where he was accused of running a smuggling ring in the 1990s protected by senior officials. The court concluded that, from 1991, Lai “established companies, strongholds and networks in Hong Kong and Xiamen to form a smuggling clique” to import goods worth $4.3 billion. Jia, now the Communist party’s fourth most senior leader, was the province’s party boss.
Lai and his family fled to Canada in 1999. He was deported in July 2011 after a Canadian court dismissed concerns he could be tortured or executed if sent home.