Lethal injections for death-row convicts

CONVICTS sentenced to death in Beijing will be executed by injection from next year, Beijing Youth Daily reported today.

All three intermediate courts in the capital have organized designated staff to visit the newly built execution room. Previously most people sentenced to death were shot.

Zheng Xiaoyu, former director of China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), was executed by injection in 2007. Zheng, 63, was the latest provincial level official to be executed in this way after being found guilty of taking 6.49 million yuan (US$850,000) in bribes and dereliction of duty.

Cheng Kejie, the former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, was executed by injection in September 2000 in Beijing for accepting 41 million yuan (US$4.9 million) in bribes.

He is the highest ranking government official to be executed by injection so far. Both Zheng and Cheng received the penalty in Qincheng Prison.

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