On November 27, 2024, Zheng Xuelin, the former chief justice of the first civil division of the Supreme People’s Court of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes exceeding 39 million yuan. Previously, the prosecution had accused him of taking bribes totaling over 46.79 million yuan.
In a public trial on November 27, the Intermediate People’s Court of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, announced the verdict of Zheng Xuelin, a former member of the trial committee of the Supreme People’s Court and former chief of the Civil Division One. Zheng was sentenced to 12 years in prison for bribery and fined 3 million yuan. Additionally, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for using his influence for bribery and fined 500,000 yuan. The court decided to combine the charges, resulting in a 15-year prison sentence and a 3.5 million yuan fine.
The court stated that from 2004 to 2022, Zheng Xuelin utilized his positions as deputy chief of the filing division, chief of the second filing division, chief of the environmental resources trial division, deputy chief of the second circuit court, chief of the filing division, chief of the Civil Division One, and member of the trial committee of the Supreme People’s Court to receive a total of over 35.29 million yuan in bribes.
From March to September 2023, after retiring, Zheng Xuelin took advantage of his former positions as a member of the trial committee of the Supreme People’s Court and chief of Civil Division One to receive a total of 11.5 million yuan, of which he actually obtained 4 million yuan.
On September 7, 2023, Zheng Xuelin was officially removed from office. In February of this year, he was expelled from the Communist Party and handed over to judicial authorities. In June, the Taiyuan City Procuratorate filed a lawsuit against him. On August 30, the first trial was held, during which the prosecution accused him of accepting bribes totaling over 46.79 million yuan, and Zheng Xuelin pleaded guilty in court.
Public records show that Zheng Xuelin was born in 1962, graduated from the Law Department of China University of Political Science and Law, and served in various positions within the Supreme People’s Court, including the civil division and research office. In October 2001, he became the deputy chief of the filing division of the Supreme People’s Court. From September 2007 to December 2008, he held a position in Chongqing as the deputy director and member of the trial committee of the High Court, and in 2009, he became the chief of the second filing division of the Supreme People’s Court.
On July 4, 2014, the Supreme People’s Court established the Environmental Resources Trial Division, with Zheng Xuelin appointed as its first chief justice.
In 2018, Zheng Xuelin served as the chief of the filing division of the Supreme People’s Court and was later transferred to be the chief of Civil Division One until he stepped down in 2022.