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Ex-official built club that was 鈥榗razily luxurious鈥

By Li Qian | September 18, 2015, Friday | Print Edition

A FORMER official in north China’s Tianjin connived with businessmen to build a “crazily luxurious” private club modelled on Beijing’s “Water Cube” Olympics swimming venue, China’s anti-graft watchdog said yesterday.

Wang Zhengshan, 61, who was a senior official in the port city’s development zone, has been expelled from the Party, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced.

His boss Zhang Jiaxing, 62, was also expelled and both men are facing charges of abuse of power and taking bribes.

As his retirement approached, Wang acted recklessly to maintain a lavish lifestyle, the watchdog said.

He asked for huge bribes so he could purchase a luxurious villa. He also built a private club that had a swimming pool, fitness room, tennis court, dining hall and barbecue garden. The mahogany furniture in the club was imported and the club attained a “crazy level of luxury,” the watchdog said.

Wang was a law unto himself, it said. He ran wild and became blinded by his lust for money.

The watchdog also said Wang tried to hinder its investigation by agreeing to a “conspiracy of silence” with other suspects.

“Wang Zhengshan is an example of a Party official in a leadership position who ignored the law and discipline, acted without regard for any authority, was blinded by lust for money and went mad in his pursuit of extravagant pleasures,” the watchdog said.

Zhang was director of Tianjin’s Tanggu district for more than nine years, during which time Wang was his deputy. In late 2009, Tanggu was merged into the newly established Binhai New Area in the port city, and both took up similar positions there.

Zhang took advantage of his post to seek benefits for others in land transfers and other land-related affairs, the anti-graft watchdog said.

In return, he received huge bribes, attended expensive banquets and visited expensive entertainment venues.

He also helped relatives do business in fields he was in charge of, it said.

Since President Xi Jinping began his sweeping campaign against corruption, waste and extravagance three years ago, the government has released details of the sometimes luxurious lives of officials who are supposed to live on modest sums and lead morally exemplary lives.

Tales of graft and high living have prompted widespread public anger, and the Party has vowed to come down hard on offenders.

The Binhai New Area was the site of two huge explosions on August 12 that destroyed a warehouse that was being used to store toxic chemicals.

The blasts killed 165 people, including 99 firefighters and 11 police officers.

As of September 15, eight people, most of them firefighters, were still missing.

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