In China, a Madoff-like schemer gets executed

lamjin

When baseball's best descend on Citi Field Tuesday for the All-Star Game, they'll be playing in the New York Mets' home turf that remains haunted by the misdeeds of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.

His ruse cost the Mets' owners millions and helped transform the franchise from a star-studded contender to a mediocre-at-best set of prospects and spare parts. As The Atlantic notes, China routinely executes people who commit the crimes Madoff perpetrated against Mets ownership and many others.
Then again, China sometimes doesn't notify the family of the convicted before executing their loved one. Such was the case with Hunan real estate developer Zeng Chengjie, who defrauded more than 57,000 investors out of approximately $460 million.
He used the money to fund his company and bid for urban development projects in Jishou, a small city in Hunan. However, his daughter insists that more than half the money has been returned and notes that the local government encouraged Zeng's fundraising and worked closely with him on the projects.
When new policies went into effect in 2009, investors started asking for their money back and closed in on Zeng. He was swiftly imprisoned, and his assets were sold. His attorney notes that a state-owned company benefited from Zeng's fall, but his execution came with far worse implications.
Zeng's family wasn't notified before he was put to death, and they didn't see his body before it was cremated. When questioned about Zeng's secret execution, the Intermediate People's Court in Changsha tweeted on Sina Weibo that no law entitles a death row inmate to meet with his family before execution. Internet users pointed out, however, that the Supreme People's Court issued an interpretation that does gives death row inmates such a right.
Zeng's execution and the way it was conducted are only feeding the growing debate about the treatment of white-collar criminals in China. While most Chinese still support the death penalty, executing nonviolent economic crimes has created some controversy. Since local governments often play a role in such cases, alleged government misconduct in them has drawn scrutiny.
Zeng's daughter, for example, says China's supreme court approved Zeng's death sentence after the party boss of Hunan at the time of Zeng's conviction became the chief justice.

huhellen2013

Since local governments often play a role in such cases, alleged government misconduct in them has drawn scrutiny.But zeng was executed to death already, how to do scrutiny?