Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200810/20081016/article_377023.htm
Beijing bribery hearing begins
Created: 2008-10-16 1:22:33
Author:Chen Xingjie
THE first public hearing in the corruption case of former Vice Mayor of Beijing, Liu Zhihua, started on Tuesday at a court in Hebei Province, The Beijing News reported.
Liu, 59, is charged with taking 6.9 million yuan (US$1 million) in bribes during his tenure as capital's vice mayor and the city government's secretary general.
The hearing began at 8am on Tuesday at Hengshui Intermediate People's Court, which was assigned by the Supreme People's Court to handle the case. Liu's wife and son were allowed to attend the hearing.
Altogether, 10 bribery charges were involved. Liu denied most of the charges. According to Liu's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, most of the money was taken by his wife and his lover, Wang Jianrui, from real estate developers.
Wang was in charge of a construction company in Beijing, and Liu allegedly abused his power by helping her company win construction projects for Olympic venues. But these charges was not included in yesterday's case, Mo told the newspaper.
According to the Hengshui court's public notice, a separate hearing started yesterday that charged Wang with accepting bribes.
Liu became a vice mayor in 1999. He was in charge of work in urban planning, infrastructure construction, land and housing management, as well as sports and railways.
He was named the general director of the city's preparation headquarters for the 2008 Olympic Games and managed venue and infrastructure construction projects valued at billions of US dollars.
On June 11, 2006, he was ousted from the post on corruption charges. In mid December that year, he was handed over to prosecutors.
Liu is the second highest ranked official in Beijing to have been punished for corruption since 1995. Chen Xitong, the capital's former mayor and Party secretary, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 1998 for corruption and dereliction of duty.
Liu, 59, is charged with taking 6.9 million yuan (US$1 million) in bribes during his tenure as capital's vice mayor and the city government's secretary general.
The hearing began at 8am on Tuesday at Hengshui Intermediate People's Court, which was assigned by the Supreme People's Court to handle the case. Liu's wife and son were allowed to attend the hearing.
Altogether, 10 bribery charges were involved. Liu denied most of the charges. According to Liu's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, most of the money was taken by his wife and his lover, Wang Jianrui, from real estate developers.
Wang was in charge of a construction company in Beijing, and Liu allegedly abused his power by helping her company win construction projects for Olympic venues. But these charges was not included in yesterday's case, Mo told the newspaper.
According to the Hengshui court's public notice, a separate hearing started yesterday that charged Wang with accepting bribes.
Liu became a vice mayor in 1999. He was in charge of work in urban planning, infrastructure construction, land and housing management, as well as sports and railways.
He was named the general director of the city's preparation headquarters for the 2008 Olympic Games and managed venue and infrastructure construction projects valued at billions of US dollars.
On June 11, 2006, he was ousted from the post on corruption charges. In mid December that year, he was handed over to prosecutors.
Liu is the second highest ranked official in Beijing to have been punished for corruption since 1995. Chen Xitong, the capital's former mayor and Party secretary, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 1998 for corruption and dereliction of duty.
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