'House sister' in homes probe
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
January 25, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE case of a "house sister," a woman alleged to have illegally amassed more than 20 homes using multiple identities, will be fully investigated, China's Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.
The ministry has set up a special team to supervise the investigation into how Gong Ai'ai, who is said to have at least two identities and hukou, had come to own the houses in Beijing worth more than 1 billion yuan (US$159 million).
China's property market controls restrict individuals buying multiple homes, but "ghost" identities can help householders evade restrictions.
Gong's identities have raised concern over possible corruption, such as unfair distribution of government-subsidized affordable housing and officials' evasion of personal property supervision.
Gong was dubbed a "house sister" by netizens after details were posted online.
A ministry statement said Gong first registered as a resident in the town of Shenmu in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. She later registered identities in two counties of neighboring Shanxi Province and Beijing between 2004 and 2008.
Some of her properties were purchased under the name of Gong Xianxia, a name registered in fake records.
One of the fake identities was revoked early last year, the ministry's statement said. The ministry promised a thorough investigation and serious punishment for those involved, and called for a streamlining of the household registration and identity issuing system to make similar offenses less likely in future.
Authorities in Shenmu County have suspended three police officers, including the deputy head of the county police department, and a government official who formerly served as a policeman there.
A police officer in Beijing suspected of handling Gong's residence registration in the capital was suspended yesterday pending further investigation, according to the People's Daily website.
The Beijing Public Security Bureau also sealed Gong's apartments and cars in the city for criminal investigation and canceled her hukou there, the website report said.
Hukou is a Chinese permanent residence registration and personal identification system governed by public security departments. In China, an individual can only have one legitimate identity and hukou.
Zhai Zhenfeng, a housing administrative official in central China's Henan Province, was arrested earlier this month after he and his family members were found to have dual hukou and owned 31 houses.
Zhai's wife is said to have taken advantage of his position and sold houses built under the government's affordable housing scheme.
Such cases cause outrage as many people struggle to pay for just one home.
Gong has said her houses were purchased with her legal income.
Hong Daode, a professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, said that Gong and relevant police officers' acts may constitute criminal offenses.
In addition to the identity certificate counterfeiting, which is a criminal offense, the police officers should also be investigated for dereliction of duty, Hong told China National Radio.
"Even if the police say they are not complicit in Gong's offense, they may be held accountable for failure to properly review her identity information before granting the ID cards and hukou," he said.
The scandals also indicate that the current household registration system needs improving, said Yang Hongshan, a professor with the School of Public Administration of the Renmin University of China.
In its statement, the ministry said it has launched a special campaign in the identity and hukou administrative system to uncover fake and duplicate identity records.
Police officers will be sacked if they are found responsible for illegal hukou registration and issuing false identities, the statement added.
The ministry has set up a special team to supervise the investigation into how Gong Ai'ai, who is said to have at least two identities and hukou, had come to own the houses in Beijing worth more than 1 billion yuan (US$159 million).
China's property market controls restrict individuals buying multiple homes, but "ghost" identities can help householders evade restrictions.
Gong's identities have raised concern over possible corruption, such as unfair distribution of government-subsidized affordable housing and officials' evasion of personal property supervision.
Gong was dubbed a "house sister" by netizens after details were posted online.
A ministry statement said Gong first registered as a resident in the town of Shenmu in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. She later registered identities in two counties of neighboring Shanxi Province and Beijing between 2004 and 2008.
Some of her properties were purchased under the name of Gong Xianxia, a name registered in fake records.
One of the fake identities was revoked early last year, the ministry's statement said. The ministry promised a thorough investigation and serious punishment for those involved, and called for a streamlining of the household registration and identity issuing system to make similar offenses less likely in future.
Authorities in Shenmu County have suspended three police officers, including the deputy head of the county police department, and a government official who formerly served as a policeman there.
A police officer in Beijing suspected of handling Gong's residence registration in the capital was suspended yesterday pending further investigation, according to the People's Daily website.
The Beijing Public Security Bureau also sealed Gong's apartments and cars in the city for criminal investigation and canceled her hukou there, the website report said.
Hukou is a Chinese permanent residence registration and personal identification system governed by public security departments. In China, an individual can only have one legitimate identity and hukou.
Zhai Zhenfeng, a housing administrative official in central China's Henan Province, was arrested earlier this month after he and his family members were found to have dual hukou and owned 31 houses.
Zhai's wife is said to have taken advantage of his position and sold houses built under the government's affordable housing scheme.
Such cases cause outrage as many people struggle to pay for just one home.
Gong has said her houses were purchased with her legal income.
Hong Daode, a professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, said that Gong and relevant police officers' acts may constitute criminal offenses.
In addition to the identity certificate counterfeiting, which is a criminal offense, the police officers should also be investigated for dereliction of duty, Hong told China National Radio.
"Even if the police say they are not complicit in Gong's offense, they may be held accountable for failure to properly review her identity information before granting the ID cards and hukou," he said.
The scandals also indicate that the current household registration system needs improving, said Yang Hongshan, a professor with the School of Public Administration of the Renmin University of China.
In its statement, the ministry said it has launched a special campaign in the identity and hukou administrative system to uncover fake and duplicate identity records.
Police officers will be sacked if they are found responsible for illegal hukou registration and issuing false identities, the statement added.
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