| |
 |
Corrupt family to stand trial
|
A FORMER Shenzhen Customs chief will soon be put on trial for corruption, along with his wife and two daughters, the city's chief corruption-buster has announced.
Zhao Yucun, former director of Shenzhen Customs, will be charged with taking 9.1 million yuan (US$1.09 million) in bribes from smugglers in collaboration with his family. The announcement was made by Lin Shixi, director of the Anti-corruption Bureau under the Shenzhen Municipal Procuratorate, in front of an audience of 200 officials and their families on Monday. He warned that wives could turn officials corrupt.
Zhao, his wife and his younger daughter were detained separately while the elder daughter was released on bail because she has a young child to look after, said Lin.
Earlier this year, Zhao's grandchild, made “homeless" and “unattended" following the arrests of all the adults of the family, was used as an example to alert the wives of the city's officials.
The official said the bribes were mainly given by Hong Kong businessman Yang Gaiqing, who ran a trading firm in Shenzhen.
Yang was also the smuggler who brought down Wang Leyi, former vice-director of the Customs General Administration in Beijing, although the bribes allegedly given to Wang was much less than the amount in Zhao's case.
Lin also revealed shocking details how Zhao's wife nudged the smuggler for bribes. She asked her daughter to thank Yang even though he did not respond after Zhao's wife told him her daughter wanted to study abroad but had no money, Lin added.
The following day Yang brought one million yuan to Zhao's family to finance his daughter's overseas study. Zhao's wife used the same tactic when she asked Yang to give her family a car and a villa in Hong Kong for free.
Yang's shady investment paid handsome returns. The little-known small businessman became a tycoon by smuggling more than two billion yuan worth of goods through a privileged bonded warehouse approved by Zhao where all imported goods needed no official inspection.
Lin refused to give further details on the case as the trial has not yet opened.
The amount of bribes pocketed by Zhao dwarfed other high-profile cases involving corrupt Customs chiefs in other parts of the country, notably 2.2 million yuan by a Hangzhou official and three million yuan by a Zhanjiang official. (Lin Min)
|
|
|
|
