>I find it unbelievably harsh as well and unimaginable. However, I wonder if it was due to the risk to human life due to his actions and not the fraud itself? It could have been considered terrorism by food... or was it someone else responsible for that?

I believe it is like usual political. If they bother to scrutinise ruling
party members and all their little sins 'death tol' might run into thousands,
but this was probably done so government look good to designated audience
internally (not western press) and sends warrning signal to those executives involved in things that might cause risk to public health but I believe mor importantly hurt China's export outlook (incomes).

Simillar to medieval pracices, guy was simply slaughtered as example to others.

I will give you oppposite extreme example;
There is guy here in Cyprus who made fortune on US nasdaq bubble back in
1999-2000 by inflating asset values, who is according to our
adopted western practices being prosecuted for years now.
So his assets are frozen, company liquidated etc. but nonetheless he still lives (when not in courts) in his multi-million mansion with maids and all that.
'Alowance' he was granted to widhhdraw from his frozen bank/company accounts is obviosely enough to live like this. His wife even complained in media
for her 'beauty expences' being cut, which were enough to feed entire family here.
So probably in some years time, he will get into some settlement arangement
with prosecutors, maybe do some time in prison and then live happily ever after that on assets which somehow escaped court freezer.

Unlike Chineese guy, this one will actually serve as example how to successfully avoid punishment.

Go figure.

>
>
>>Really harsh punishment, perhaps wake up call sent to
>>various 'structures' there to straighten up or at least be more carefull
>>with what they are doing.
>>
>>But I do wander if few people were publicly prosecuted and then actually sent for life in prison for corporate fraud back in say 1997-1998, how 'bubbly' would hv been stock exchange back in 2000-2001.
>>(BTW big SE scandal happened in Cyprus as well !)
>>
>>Death penalty is of course extreeme, but I do believe in heavy punishment for fraud;
>>
>>Some desperate kid steal your wallet with few hundred bucks in it, and gets
>>easily few years in prison. I don't see how wrong would be to give those
>>corporate bandits punishment according to amount stollen.
>>
>>You hv stollen 2.4 mills ?
>>All right; - dring,dring,dring,dring...equals to... minus all discounts...
>>that makes it grand total of 2375.5 years in prison.
>>Sorry, as 'bonus' you get all your properties expropriated.
>>
>>Bubbly,Jubbly huh ? :)