Former Chongqing Party chief charged with bribery

Sun Zhengcai, former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, has been charged with bribery, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said on Tuesday.

Sun, 54, also was a member of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

The procuratorate transferred Sun’s case to the first branch of Tianjin People’s Procuratorate after completing the investigation according to law. The indictment has been delivered to the First Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin by the first branch of the Tianjin People’s Procuratorate, China’s top procuratorate said.

Sun is accused of taking advantage of his posts to seek profit for others and of illegally accepting huge amounts of money and property while serving as the Party chief of Beijing’s Shunyi district, Standing Committee member and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, agriculture minister, secretary of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee, Political Bureau member of the CPC Central Committee, and Party secretary of Chongqing, according to the indictment.

In July, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC launched an investigation of Sun for “serious discipline violations”. In September, Sun was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office.

The CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee held a meeting on Tuesday to brief its members about the prosecution of Sun, Chongqing Daily reported.

The committee believed that Sun’s political ambition and selfish desire became overinflated. He broke many Party discipline rules and became corrupt, the newspaper reported.

Sun continued his wrongdoing even after the 18th CPC National Congress held in 2012. What he did significantly damaged the image of the Party and national interests, the committee said.

The prosecution of Sun demonstrates the central leadership’s determination in fighting corruption and its allout effort to enforce strict Party discipline. It also shows that no one has special privilege under the law, it added.

A high profile anti-corruption campaign that began five years ago has led to the downfall of a number of senior officials. The CPC has said it is committed to securing “a sweeping victory” against corruption.

Since the 19th CPC National Congress in October, several officials at or above deputy ministerial level and senior military officials have been investigated or punished, including former Chinese military chief of staff Fang Fenghui; and vice-governors of Shaanxi, Shandong and Jiangxi provinces.

Lower level officials have not avoided punishment. In January, the CCDI named a number of grassroots officials implicated in the abuse of poverty-relief funds, bribetaking, embezzlement and fraudulently obtaining subsistence allowances.

Last year, nearly 450 people were investigated and punished for fraudulent claims or misappropriation of funds and 730 million yuan ($115 million) of misused funds recovered, according to the Ministry of Finance and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

The leaders of supervision commissions in 31 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have been elected to ensure that “all public servants exercising public power” are subject to supervision.

A national supervision commission will be established at the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress, scheduled for March 5.