BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) – A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced Bi Jingquan, former head of the now-defunct China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), to 14 years in prison over bribery.
• The court in the eastern province of Shandong said Bi had illegally accepted more than 57 million yuan ($8.49 million) in money and assets from 1995 to 2025 in various posts including as CFDA head and as a senior official in the State Council, the court said in a statement.
• Bi accepted the bribes for helping entities and individuals in matters including business operations, administrative approvals and project settlement, the court said in its first instance judgement.
• He was appointed chief of the CFDA in early 2015, a few months before the government launched a major revamp of China’s drug review procedure.
• During his tenure, the CFDA advanced efforts to simplify and expedite the review process for new drugs, and introduced steps to improve the quality of generic drugs.
• In 2018, Bi resigned amid fallout from a major vaccine scandal.
• Bi admitted guilt and expressed remorse in court, the court said.
($1 = 6.7124 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
