Former head of Chinese food and drug watchdog jailed for bribery
A former head of the China Food and Drug Administration has been sentenced to 14 years in jail.
PHOTO: Reuters
BEIJING — A Chinese court on Tuesday (Sept 15) sentenced Bi Jingquan, former head of the now-defunct China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), to 14 years in prison over bribery.
The court in the eastern province of Shandong said Bi had illegally accepted more than 57 million yuan (S$10 million) in money and assets from 1995 to 2025 in various posts including as CFDA head and as a senior official in the State Council, the court said in a statement.
Bi accepted the bribes for helping entities and individuals in matters including business operations, administrative approvals and project settlement, the court said in its first instance judgement.
He was appointed chief of the CFDA in early 2015, a few months before the government launched a major revamp of China's drug review procedure.
During his tenure, the CFDA advanced efforts to simplify and expedite the review process for new drugs, and introduced steps to improve the quality of generic drugs.
In 2018, Bi resigned amid fallout from a major vaccine scandal.
Bi admitted guilt and expressed remorse in court, the court said.
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