Do corrupt bank managers deserve the death sentence?

Huang Jinjiang, a former bank official with the China Agricultural Bank was sentenced to death for receiving bribes. He is also deprived of his political rights for the rest of his life, not to mention that all his personal assets are confiscated.

From 1993 to 1997, the defendant Huang abused his position in the bank to approve loans, after accepting bribes up to seven million yuan. Huang's three other colleagues were also charged for bribery for a lesser amount. Most part of the illicit money are not recovered.

In a country where “an eye for an eye, blood for blood” is still a tradition, it may take time for the new rule that aims to reduce the number of death penalty to set in. If the death sentencing of a fellow colleague, Wen Mengjie, former director of the IT department does not deter Huang from such acts, China may need to look beyond the legal system to solve its problem.

The economic boom in China has resulted in a ‘litigation explosion’, bringing unprecedented wealth to the nation, tipping the scale between professional integrity and simple greed. Is China simply too big to govern? Are its banks too wealthy to contain? If the problem lie with the governance, is it fair to hang the players?