A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official in central Hunan Province has been removed from his post for "serious breach of party discipline," local authorities said on Wednesday.

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Zhou Zhengkun, former secretary of the CPC Committee of the Hunan Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, was suspected of "taking advantage of his posts to seek personal gain and seriously violating party disciplines" during the period when he served as mayor of Hunan's Chenzhou City and party chief of the provincial commission, local authorities said.

 

Zhou is now under investigation, said a spokesman with the CPC Hunan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

 

Zhou, born in July 1953, had served as party chief of the provincial commission since Dec. 2003, and was mayor of Chenzhou City from March 2000 to Dec. 2003.

 

Previously, the former party chief of Chenzhou City Li Dalun was accused of taking bribes of more than 14.34 million yuan.

 

Li, 57, who will soon be on trial, failed to account for another 17.65 million yuan.

 

Li and his family members took the bribes from 1999 to 2006 when he was the secretary of the Chenzhou City CPC Committee. In exchange, Li helped local construction companies win bids on projects and gave promotions to some local officials.

 

Zeng Jinchun, former secretary of the CPC Chenzhou City Commission for Discipline Inspection, has also been charged with taking bribes valued at 30 million yuan and failing to account for 50 million yuan in cash.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2007)