Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A8

August 21, 2014

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Nation

Beijing Zoo ex-official on trial for corruption

By Li Qian | August 21, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

A FORMER deputy director of Beijing Zoo went on trial yesterday on corruption charges, which were unveiled after investigators found nearly 6 million yuan (US$976,673.77) in cash at his home last year.

Prosecutors said Xiao Shaoxiang embezzled more than 14 million yuan, took 100,000 yuan in bribes and couldn’t provide the source for another 8 million yuan.

All the ill-gotten money has been recovered, Legal Evening News reported.

Xiao was in charge of construction projects inside the zoo. He is accused of siphoning off project funds by transferring the money to his company, Beijing Tianlong Feiyu engraving company.

Xiao, however, denied any involvement with the company, insisting in the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court yesterday that he was just a friend of the company’s legal representative Gao Mingzhang rather than the company boss, as alleged by prosecutors.

The court hearing was expected to last two days.

Xiao’s graft case did not come as a surprise to zoo staff.

“We had suspected very early about the illegal deals involving Xiao because the construction contracts were only given to two companies,” said one worker, who has been with the zoo for nearly 30 years.

He also alleged that the workers used artificial materials instead of stones to build mountains, which aren’t solid at all, the paper reported.

Investigators searched Xiao’s home in Beijing after getting public tips about his corrupt acts. There, they found 6 million yuan in cash, two bank books and several fossils.

Xiao was detained by police on March 3 last year and arrested two days later.

Nation


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend