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China`s woman tycoon wins reprieve from death sentence

A 34-year-old Chinese woman tycoon, convicted for raising USD 121 million illegally, got a reprieve Friday after a court commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment.

Beijing: A 34-year-old Chinese woman tycoon, convicted for raising USD 121 million illegally, got a reprieve Friday after a court commuted her?death sentence to life imprisonment.
Wu Ying, a Zhejiang businesswoman, was initially sentenced to death in 2009. She won a reprieve for two years in 2012 through an appeal. As the reprieve period was expiring, Wu who was serving in Zhejiang Provincial Women`s Prison in Hangzhou, applied for the retrial and hoped for a further change of her penalty, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. In April 2012 the Chinese Supreme People`s Court struck down the death sentence against?Wu?after questioning the defendant. She was convicted of illegally raising as much as 770 million yuan (USD 121 million) for investments. The court declined to approve the death sentence due to lack of evidence, and referred the case back to the high people`s court in East China`s Zhejiang province. More than half of the funds she raised were lost in failed investments. According to the Chinese Criminal Law, a criminal serving a stay of execution can apply for a reduction in their penalty to life imprisonment, or even to a 25-year jail term if the person has no record of criminality in jail.