Former head of Chinese food and drug watchdog jailed for bribery

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.

Reuters

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