Xu Maiyong, former Deputy Mayor of Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to death for corruption by the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, on May 12, 2011.

Xu, 52, was convicted of bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power by the court and was also deprived of his political rights for life. All of his personal property was confiscated.

The court found that between 1995 and 2009, Xu abused his official positions to interfere in project contracting and to help companies and people obtain land, promotions and privileged tax breaks. In exchange, he received over 145 million yuan ($22 million) in bribes. Xu also embezzled state-owned assets totaling more than 53 million yuan ($8 million).