Beijing, Feb 20: A Chinese millionaire has been sentenced to death for raping eight teenage girls and bribing police to call off their investigation, state media said today. Lu Zongda, 43, chairman of a manufacturing company in northeastern Liaoyang City, raped the girls aged 12 to 15 in nearby Shenyang City in 2000, the Beijing youth daily reported.
Despite one of the girl's fathers reporting Lu to police, he served just two months in jail before being released without charge after paying police officers 92,770 us dollars, the report said.
The case reflects the extent to which the rich and powerful can buy their way out of trouble in present-day China and the severity of corruption in a country that has few checks on the authority of government officials.


To get a lighter sentence, the friend spilled the beans, the report said.


Lu's case was reopened and he was finally sentenced on December 25 by a court in Liaoning province.


The rapes began in early 2000 when a woman who needed Lu's help for her business agreed to his request to supply him with young virgin girls. Bureau Report