In China an elderly female government official, nicknamed the ‘Land Granny’ by the press and convicted of corruption in a land development scandal, has been executed following the revelation of evidence of some $23 million made illicitly, mostly from bribes. Luo Yaping, an official at a land sub-bureau in the district of Fushun, used her relatively minor office to amass a fortune in embezzled money and bribes to approve land development projects. China’s brisk development has caused a natural market surge in the demand for developable land and the necessary permits, fueling a corruption boom among minor Chinese officials that is decried by the public and threatens stability. The fortune of 145 million yuan was calculated by investigators by tracing Luo’s accounts and her various financial activities. Suspicious that she was being investigated, Luo sent her daughter abroad and she herself attempted to emigrate to Canada before being arrested in 2008. China is among the world’s most prolific users of capital punishment and it is not uncommon for corrupt officials to receive the death penalty.

[Yahoo]