Qu Wanting's property auction ends, her mother Zhang Mingjie sentenced to life imprisonment

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
On June 3, the second auction of Qu Wanting's property, who became famous for singing "In My Song," ended with a sale price of 2.199 million yuan. The property failed to sell in the first court auction on May 16, and was subsequently reduced by over 400,000 yuan for the second auction on June 2. Additionally, another property of Qu Wanting was sold at the first court auction on May 16 for 2.919 million yuan. The two properties together sold for over 5 million yuan. It is reported that both properties are related to Qu Wanting's mother, Zhang Mingjie.

 
 

 
Case review
From 10:00 on May 15 to 10:00 on May 16, two units of Zhang Mingjie's properties in Building 2, Unit 1, Phase 1 of Fuli Jiangwan New City, Daoli District, Harbin, were auctioned. Unit 1802, with an area of 172.77 square meters, was sold for 2.919 million yuan. Unit 1801, with an area of 148.76 square meters, failed to sell due to a lack of bidders.

 
 

Zhang Mingjie was formerly a deputy director of the Harbin Municipal Development and Reform Commission and was sentenced for accepting bribes and abuse of power. The court ruled that Zhang Mingjie engaged in malpractice for personal gain and abused her power, causing public property losses totaling over 230 million yuan. She was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, deprived of political rights for life, and had all personal property confiscated. For abuse of power, she was sentenced to ten years in prison, with the final sentence being life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property. The second-instance trial upheld the first-instance life sentence.
 
 
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 385 
Any state functionary who, by taking advantage of their position, extorts property from another person, or illegally accepts another person’s property in exchange for securing benefits for that person, constitutes the crime of bribery.
Any state functionary who, in economic activities, violates state regulations by accepting various forms of rebates or handling fees for personal possession shall be punished as a bribe-taker.
 
Article 397
Any state functionary who abuses their power or neglects their duty, causing significant losses to public property, the state, or the interests of the people, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years. Where this law provides otherwise, those provisions shall apply.
Any state functionary who engages in malpractice for personal gain and commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years. Where this law provides otherwise, those provisions shall apply.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Qu Wanting, as a highly popular singer in China a few years ago, peaked at the start of her career but fell to the bottom due to her mother Zhang Mingjie. Through understanding Zhang Mingjie's bribery and abuse of power case, it is clear that Zhang Mingjie had no regard for the law. As the deputy director of the Harbin Development and Reform Commission, she caused public property losses of over 230 million yuan. She not only betrayed the trust of the people but also failed to uphold her principles as a public servant. To this day, she has had to return all the ill-gotten gains she swallowed back then, and even implicated her daughter's future, which can be seen as just retribution. This shows that one should fulfill their duties diligently in any position, especially as a state employee, with the nation behind them and the people in front, leaving no room for error.