(FILE)

Wu Ying, who was sentenced to death early this year for financial fraud, received a lighter penalty on May 21. The Higher People's Court of east China's Zhejiang Province made a final judgement, sentencing the 31-year-old businesswoman to death with a two-year reprieve. The court also ordered that all Wu's personal property be confiscated.

Wu, 31, is the former boss of Bense Group, a business conglomerate based in Zhejiang. She received a death sentence for cheating investors out of several hundred million yuan in January. The sentence upheld the result of a previous trial in December 2009. This once sparked public outcry for a lenient punishment.

From May 2005 to February 2007, Wu raised 770 million yuan ($122 million) by promising high returns to investors. She still had 380 million yuan ($60 million) in unpaid debt with creditors when the case was uncovered. Wu amassed the fortune by fabricating facts, deliberately hiding the truth, and promising high returns as an incentive.