Changxing’s fall marks the end of an era

Crime boss Lai Changxing bribed everyone from army officers to government mandarins. Now behind bars, has the 'Bandit King' fallen prey to the changing face of China?

When China's 'Bandit King', Lai Changxing, fell in 1999, "he took 10,000 officials with him", says The Sunday Times. Thousands of his associates were detained; 14 were sentenced to death, including the minister for borders and the head of military intelligence. His older brother died in prison. "Only Lai got away." This week his chickens finally came home to roost.

After a 12-year legal battle to extradite him from Canada, Lai has been jailed for life for smuggling and bribery (a condition of his handover was that the death penalty was waived). Many in China think he got off lightly. Lai cultivated an image as a Robin Hood figure, but, according to the People's Daily, this illiterate crime boss was the most corrupt man in over 60 years of Communist rule.

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