Ex-Yunnan official on graft trial
By Li Qian |
December 14, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A FORMER Yunnan Province official who allegedly had more than 20 apartments, including six in Melbourne, Australia, stood trial yesterday on charges of abuse of power and taking bribes worth more than 12 million yuan (US$1.9 million).
Yang Hongwei, 49, former director of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Region, is alleged to have taken bribes of 10.11 million yuan, US$138,000, HK$30,000 and A$10,000 in cash, and goods worth 959,800 yuan between 2006 and 2011, the provincial news portal (www.yunnan.cn) reported.
Yang and his wife Yu Saiyingowned 17 properties in Yunnan and six in Melbourne, but he could not account for how they were acquired.
Yang was also found to be enjoying an "indulgent" lifestyle - drinking alcohol, abusing drugs and having sexual relationships with "a multiple number of women" - the report said, citing the Standing Committee of the Party's Yunnan Provincial Committee.
According to the website, Yang's drug of choice was kaku, a mixture of opium and herbs which is smoked. It is said to be popular among the wealthy in border areas of Yunnan and Myanmar.
An anonymous insider said Yang depended on drugs to maintain his energy in his personal life and daily work, the National Business Daily reported.
"He was so energetic that he could have meetings in daytime and have barbecues late at night for several days in a row," the newspaper quoted the insider as saying.
Yang's alleged corruption came to light after the exposure of jerry-built houses following an earthquake, the website reported.
Chuxiong was hit by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in July 2009, and more than 10,000 houses were destroyed.
The state government allocated funds to build new houses for the homeless villagers.
But the villagers soon found that their new homes developed cracks and subsidence.
Authorities said Yang, together with Lu Linlin, former deputy director in Chuxiong, and Wang Bin, Chuxiong's former construction bureau head, conspired with several builders to win bids via price fixing and bid rigging.
The three officials are said to have accepted millions of yuan from developers and turned a blind eye to subcontracting. Lu and Wang were later sacked.
In April 2011, Yang was put under "double designation," where officials or Party members are ordered to confess or explain violations at a designated time and at a designated place.
He was expelled from the Party, removed from his post and transferred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings.
Prosecutors finished their investigation last month and brought him to trial in the provincial capital city of Kunmin yesterday. The trial continues.
Yang was elected head of Mile County at the age of 28 and was promoted to become Chuxiong's director at 42 in 2005.
He was said to be obsessed with demonstrating outstanding political performance though investing heavily in construction projects, according to media reports.
Under his governance, Chuxiong spent 15 billion yuan building a complex featuring imitations of other countries' presidential offices and palaces, 12 billion yuan on a tourist town and multi-billion yuan on a wine city, Guizhou news portal (www.gog.com.cn) reported.
Yang always said: "There is nothing I can't do."
Yang Hongwei, 49, former director of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Region, is alleged to have taken bribes of 10.11 million yuan, US$138,000, HK$30,000 and A$10,000 in cash, and goods worth 959,800 yuan between 2006 and 2011, the provincial news portal (www.yunnan.cn) reported.
Yang and his wife Yu Saiyingowned 17 properties in Yunnan and six in Melbourne, but he could not account for how they were acquired.
Yang was also found to be enjoying an "indulgent" lifestyle - drinking alcohol, abusing drugs and having sexual relationships with "a multiple number of women" - the report said, citing the Standing Committee of the Party's Yunnan Provincial Committee.
According to the website, Yang's drug of choice was kaku, a mixture of opium and herbs which is smoked. It is said to be popular among the wealthy in border areas of Yunnan and Myanmar.
An anonymous insider said Yang depended on drugs to maintain his energy in his personal life and daily work, the National Business Daily reported.
"He was so energetic that he could have meetings in daytime and have barbecues late at night for several days in a row," the newspaper quoted the insider as saying.
Yang's alleged corruption came to light after the exposure of jerry-built houses following an earthquake, the website reported.
Chuxiong was hit by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in July 2009, and more than 10,000 houses were destroyed.
The state government allocated funds to build new houses for the homeless villagers.
But the villagers soon found that their new homes developed cracks and subsidence.
Authorities said Yang, together with Lu Linlin, former deputy director in Chuxiong, and Wang Bin, Chuxiong's former construction bureau head, conspired with several builders to win bids via price fixing and bid rigging.
The three officials are said to have accepted millions of yuan from developers and turned a blind eye to subcontracting. Lu and Wang were later sacked.
In April 2011, Yang was put under "double designation," where officials or Party members are ordered to confess or explain violations at a designated time and at a designated place.
He was expelled from the Party, removed from his post and transferred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings.
Prosecutors finished their investigation last month and brought him to trial in the provincial capital city of Kunmin yesterday. The trial continues.
Yang was elected head of Mile County at the age of 28 and was promoted to become Chuxiong's director at 42 in 2005.
He was said to be obsessed with demonstrating outstanding political performance though investing heavily in construction projects, according to media reports.
Under his governance, Chuxiong spent 15 billion yuan building a complex featuring imitations of other countries' presidential offices and palaces, 12 billion yuan on a tourist town and multi-billion yuan on a wine city, Guizhou news portal (www.gog.com.cn) reported.
Yang always said: "There is nothing I can't do."
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