China’s highest court will review death sentence of ex-billionaire whose case sparked outcry

BEIJING, China – China’s highest court said Tuesday that it is reviewing the death sentence handed down to a former billionaire for illegally raising money for her business in a case that has sparked a public outcry over whether the sentence is too severe.

The Supreme People’s Court will review the death sentence given to 31-year-old businesswoman Wu Ying “with care,” court spokesman Sun Jungong said, according to the China Daily.

Wu was convicted of illegally raising $120 million from private creditors between 2005 and 2007, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

All death sentences are sent to the supreme court for review but it is rare for the court to comment on cases.

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Wu’s case has drawn widespread attention with reports and commentary in domestic media and discussions on China’s popular microblogs.

The public have complained about the severity of the penalty on a private individual in a system where corrupt Communist Party officials often escape punishment. Although the figure is considered a state secret, China is believed to carry out more court-ordered executions each year than all other nations combined.

Part of Wu’s appeal is also her rags-to-riches story. State media reports say Wu dropped out of school as teenager and built up a multimillion dollar business empire in three years, starting with a hair salon.

Experts have also been quoted in the Chinese media as saying that Wu’s case underscores the difficulties that many small- and medium-sized enterprises face in getting funds through authorized sources, forcing them to turn to informal lenders.

The true scale of informal lending nationwide, much of it derived from bank loans originally intended for other purposes, is unknown. But such lending has ballooned because the reluctance of China’s state-run banks to lend to small and medium-sized businesses has been compounded by government curbs on credit to cool inflation. Interest charged by private lenders can be as high as 90 per cent, inviting comparisons with dodgy investment schemes.