Supreme court reviewing death sentence in fraud case

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The Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China is reviewing the death sentence on a financial fraud case involving Wu Ying, who was convicted in a financial fraud case in 2009, SPC spokesman Sun Jungong said Tuesday at a press conference.

Wu Ying on trial. [File photo]?

The SPC will, based on legal procedures, scrutinize the facts and evidence during the review process and prudently handle the case according to law, Sun said, adding that the case, in the capital circulation sector, was complicated and involved a huge amount of money.

The Higher People's Court of east Zhejiang province in January upheld the death penalty for businesswoman Wu Ying, who was convicted of cheating investors out of several hundred million yuan.

The case drew extensive attention from the media and public during the first and second trials.

Wu, 31, who dropped out of school as teenager, eventually built a multi-million dollar business empire from a single beauty salon in just three years.

But she was arrested in 2007, and the Intermediate People's Court of Jinhua in Zhejiang found that she had illegally pooled 770 million yuan (122 million U.S. dollars) from private creditors between 2005 and 2007 to fund her businesses under the Zhejiang-based Bense Holding Group.

Wu cheated investors into pouring in money by making false promises of high returns, according to the Jinhua court. Upon her arrest, she still owed 380 million yuan.

The Jinhua court sentenced Wu to death and confiscated her personal property in 2009. Wu appealed the first judgment, which was rejected by the Higher People's Court of Zhejiang in January.