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The People's High Court in North China's Hebei Province yesterday upheld the death sentences against two former bank employees who attempted to steal 50.6 million yuan ($6.7 million) from their bank.

The court said Ren Xiaofeng, 34, and Ma Xiangjing, 37, both of whom worked as vault managers at the Handan branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) in Hebei, should be executed for embezzlement. The court also affirmed the five-year sentence handed down to Zhao Xuenan, another vault manager involved in the case.

In accordance with the law, the death penalty will be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for final review.

A lower court - the Handan Intermediate People's Court - delivered the sentence on August 9. Ren, Ma and Zhao lodged an appeal, while two other people involved in the case who had been sentenced to two to three years in jail dropped their appeals.

The case involves the largest bank theft to have taken place in the country. The perpetrators said they had spent most of the money on lottery tickets.

The case developed as follows:

Last October, Ren conspired with Zhao to embezzle 200,000 yuan. They spent the money on lottery tickets and then replaced what they had stolen later.

From March 16 to April 14 this year, Ren collaborated with Ma to steal 50.6 million yuan in cash. Branch managers reported the theft to police on April 16 after they noticed millions of yuan had gone missing.

Ren and Ma fled that same day, and the Public Security Ministry placed them on its most wanted list. Ma was arrested in Beijing on April 18, and Ren in a rented house in Lianyungang, a coastal city in Jiangsu Province a day later.

Police said they had retrieved about 5.5 million yuan and found that about 45.4 million yuan had been squandered on the lottery. Ren said he got back only 98,000 yuan from lottery prizes.

At the first hearing, Ren submitted a letter in which he had written out 12 measures on how to improve the management of bank vaults. Ma also said he would like to donate his organs if he received the death penalty. Neither of these actions moved the court to clemency.

The case also led to the dismissal of five bank officials, including Deng Zhenguo, vice-president of ABC's Hebei Province branch, and four officials at ABC's Handan branch.

(China Daily 09/20/2007 page 4)

Questions:

1. The two men sentenced were employees of which bank?

2. What was the men’s position at the bank?

3. How many bank theft cases involved more money than this one?

4. How did they spend the money they stole?

5. If he gets the death penalty, Ma said he would like to do what?

Answers:

1. Handan branch of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) in Hebei.

2. Vault managers.

3. None.

4. Lottery tickets.

5. To donate his organs.

（英语点津 Linda 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.