Millionaire accused of stealing, bigamy in Beijing
( 2003-12-18 22:11) (Xinhua)
A millionaire who started his business collecting and selling garbage was
sentenced to 19 year's imprisonment in addition to a fine of 15,000 yuan
(US$1,800) for stealing, bigamy and forging certificates.
The No.1 Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday convicted Qiao Baofeng, 33,
a farmer from central China's Henan province, who began his garbage business at
construction sites in Beijing in 1984. He became a millionaire, owned five
luxury sedans, and was married to three wives.
Qiao and his accomplices interfered with circuitry to steal electricity from
the public power grid for a smelting plant that he bought in 1999. The value of
power stolen between March 2001 to August 2002 was over 1.18 million yuan
(US$142,000), according to the police investigation.
Qiao bought an apartment in the same building in Changping district, north
Beijing, for each of his three wives and lived with them in turn. He has six
children with them. Police also seized two fake official seals and five divorce
certificates from his office.
Qiao said he would appeal to a higher court.
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